RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Photovoltaic Prediction Software: Evaluation with Real Data from Northern Spain
A1 González Peña, David
A1 García Ruiz, Ignacio
A1 Diez Mediavilla, Montserrat
A1 Dieste Velasco, Mª Isabel
A1 Alonso Tristán, Cristina
K1 Photovoltaic
K1 RETScreen
K1 SAM
K1 PVGIS
K1 PVsyst
K1 PV*SOL
K1 Energy prediction
K1 Electrotecnia
K1 Electrical engineering
AB Prediction of energy production is crucial for the design and installation of PV plants. Inthis study, five free and commercial software tools to predict photovoltaic energy production areevaluated: RETScreen, Solar Advisor Model (SAM), PVGIS, PVSyst, and PV*SOL. The evaluationinvolves a comparison of monthly and annually predicted data on energy supplied to the nationalgrid with real field data collected from three real PV plants. All the systems, located in Castile andLeon (Spain), have three different tilting systems: fixed mounting, horizontal-axis tracking, anddual-axis tracking. The last 12 years of operating data, from 2008 to 2020, are used in the evaluation.Although the commercial software tools were easier to use and their installations could be describedin detail, their results were not appreciably superior. In annual global terms, the results hid poorestimations throughout the year, where overestimations were compensated by underestimatedresults. This fact was reflected in the monthly results: the software yielded overestimates duringthe colder months, while the models showed better estimates during the warmer months. In moststudies, the deviation was below 10% when the annual results were analyzed. The accuracy of thesoftware was also reduced when the complexity of the dual-axis solar tracking systems replaced thefixed installation.
PB MDPI
YR 2021
FD 2021-05
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10259/7273
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10259/7273
LA eng
NO This research was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant number RTI2018-098900-B-I00 and the Regional Government of Castilla y León under the “Support Program for Recognized Research Groups of Public Universities of Castilla y León” (ORDEN EDU/667/2019) and “Health and Safety Program” (INVESTUN/19/BU/0004).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 22-dic-2024