Examination of cable losses in photovoltaic systems

SUMMARY EXAMINATION OF CABLE LOSSES IN PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS Photovoltaics are the systems which produce directly electrical energy from the solar energy. Generally, these systems are installed as grid or non-grid connected. The components of PV systems are invertor, batery, charge controller and connectors. The energy losses resulting from these equipments affect the system performance adversely. In this thesis study, the energy and economical losses resulting from direct current cables used in the PV systems are investigated. Both experimental and simulation studies are performed to investigate cable losses. Simulation studies are performed by using PVsyst software which is widely used in the simulation and analysis of photovoltaic systems and experimental studies are performed in a solar panel installed on the rooftop of Firat University Technology Faculty main building. The cable losses occured in PV system which are installed in the experimental study are investigated by using PVsyst6.2.6. When the results of simulation study reviewed, it was shown that cable losses affect the system performance as 1.7% for 1.5 mm2, 0.6% for 4 mm2, and 0.2% for 10 mm2 cables respectively. It was also shown that the usage of different length of cables with different cross sectional area in the small sized PV systems didn't affect the system yield significantly. However, together with a precise measurement these losses can be observed more specifically in the PV system installed in a wide area. The installation costs play an important role in the PV system installation stage. In the thesis, the calculations of the optimal cable cross sections are performed to find out the best cross sectional areas of solar cables which will be used in the PV system. In this purpose, the present time value of money table is prepared by using the mean inflation rate and tariff discounts as the literature studies and the optimal cross section area of the cable used in the thesis study is obtained. Keywords: PV System, Losses, Solar Energy, Solar Cell