Residential photovoltaic system simulation: Electrical aspects.

Abstract

A computer program has been developed to simulate the performance of utility-interactive residential photovoltaic energy systems. The simulation was designed with the goal that it be sufficiently detailed to allow the comparison and evaluation of various system design options, such as fixed voltage operation versus maximum-powerpoint tracking. In order to calibrate, test and evaluate the simulation, it is compared with actual measured data obtained at MIT Energy Laboratory's Northeast Residential Experiment Station (NE RES). By comparing this measured data with previous simulations, it is seen that certain calculations have resulted in discrepancies of up to 50% in calculating the final energy quantities-the energy purchased and sold to the utility. The simulation presented reduces the error to less than 5%.