This paper presents the findings of a study to determine the effects of immediate built environment (mounting configuration) on output generated by photovoltaic (PV) module for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) and retrofitted PV systems under Malaysian climate. All the systems under study are gridconnected PV (GCPV) system. Eight GCPV systems used in this study; four for BIPV systems and the other four for retrofitted systems. Data for PV module temperature, ambient temperature, plane-of-array solar irradiance and AC power were logged at 5-min interval for all systems. The operating temperature were analysed as the temperature differential with respect to the ambient temperature. The mounting factor was established for both mounting configuration type.
This paper presents the findings of a study conducted to evaluate the performance and to identify faults of a 10-year old 1.1kW grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) system installed at Green Energy Research Center (GERC), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam. The system performance was evaluated by comparing the real operating field data with the data declared by the manufacturer. Eight performance indicators were used, which are: reference yield, array yield, final yield, capture losses, system losses, performance ratio, PV array efficiency and total efficiency. The fault detection has used three techniques - which were visual inspection as outlined in the International Energy Agency (IEA) document, thermal imager technique and the I-V curve characteristics. The finding for the system performance evaluation gives a 13.2% difference between the real operating field data and the declared manufacturer data. Among the faults detected from the visual inspection are browning and cracks of PV modules.
This paper presents and describes a prototype product code-named SolT2A
which is a system that tracks the position of the sun automatically across the
celestial vault in two axes. This kind of system is typically used in a solar
photovoltaic (PV) system in terrestrial applications to provide electrical
power. It is designed and fabricated due to Malaysia’s location near the
equator, thus the solar altitude crosses the zenith and the azimuth reverses
direction during the year. Thus the use of a static PV system is not maximised
during half of the year. This situation can be addressed by using a two-axes
solar tracking system. So far, Malaysia has not implemented such powertracking
systems. Thus SolT2A has been designed and fabricated to address
the problem by using a combination of electro-mechanical devices with an
element of programming ingenuity and intelligence. Basically SolT2A
measures solar irradiance at four points and makes comparisons in terms of
the intensity received. These data are then analysed and processed by a
controller before being sent to a DC motor that ensures the maximum amount
of solar irradiance received on the PV panels all the time. Thus SolT2A is a
system that maximises the power output of the PV panels to obtain the highest