Status monitoring and performance investigation of a 5.1 kw rooftop grid-tie photovoltaic energy system in Egypt

Abstract

Although, the existence of many solar projects in Egypt in previous years, it is evident that the lack of long-term monitoring for operational behavior and reliability investigation of such systems in Egypt may impede the successful implementation of the recent Egyptian plan for diversifying its energy source. This chapter presents a comprehensive status investigation and performance analysis of a photovoltaic energy system installed at the Faculty of Engineering—Cairo University. An integrated monitoring scheme is included using a proposed monitoring scheme that provides increased flexibility if it is compared to traditional schemes that need particular data logging system and special hardware design. The system with a total capacity of 5.1 kwp feeds the utility via grid-tie inverter who plays an essential role in monitoring the health of the system. An additional in-plane solar radiation and temperature sensors for recording the climatic conditions on the spot of PVES are erected and configured data are monitored, collected, and analyzed following the international standards of IEC 61724. The influence of dynamic fluctuations in solar radiation is taken into account by analyzing the data of three typical operating days of sunny, average cloudy, and cloudy conditions. The collected data help in conceiving the status and the health of each system’s component. The impact of the newly installed PV system on the electrical network is also initially investigated at the inverter level. A comparison of the system performance under study with other monitored PV systems reflects good matching and large potential of the newly installed system in the subsequent years.