Technical and economic analysis of grid-connected PV systems by means of simulation

Research on monitored grid-connected PV systems can lead to an improved per formance of PV systems, This view is based on monitoring results from PV sy stems in Western Europe which lag behind the expected values, However, curr ent methods for analysing these systems do not allow to investigate the pot ential system efficiency improvement on the basis of field experience. Henc e, rue have developed a method for analysing monitored grid-connected PV sy stems which meets this need, In this method the common technical approach t o analysing PV systems is broadened with an economic assessment. First an e nergy loss analysis of the PV system is made using its monitored data, In o ur analysis the energy, loss effects in the PV system are split up by simul ation. This provides a profound insight into the actual performance of the system. Next, measures to enhance the performance of the system are identif ied, The costs involved to improve the performance are analysed. Finally, t he cost-effectiveness of the potential improvements is calculated. In this paper we will present our method TEAMS. Although we will not formulate stri ct rules, we will provide a well-defined frame and structure for the applic ation of the TEAMS method It is shown that applying TEAMS contributes to im proved transparency in the evaluation of monitored grid-connected PV system s, Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.