Correlating Solar PV Technical Metrics and Financial Outcomes: A Year-Long Study of System Performance

The efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems is an important component in delivering high revenue to achieve the necessary goals at minimum cost and to overcome various climatic conditions in different areas. This paper aims to provide detailed techno-economic investigation of a PV system installed in a university in Delhi, India for one year. The analysis targets fundamental technical parameters namely AC power inverter indications, solid and baseline solar irradiation data, real-time yield as well as possible output. A comparison is then made of the expected production levels at 100% efficiency, 80% efficiency, and 60% efficiency then comparing the forecasted values with the production rates while considering breakdown losses, performance deviations, and energy losses during communication downtimes. In parallel, qualitative assessment validates the impact of operational inefficiencies on the profitability of the organization, and numerical assessment of ROI, the operation and manufacturing costs, and consequences of production inefficiency. The additional combination of both technical and financial data provides a comprehensive understanding of system performance by showing how technical variations including those in the solar irradiation and in the efficiency of the system have impacts on financial aspects in the long run. Thus, providing correlation of these technical and financial parameters of this study will create a framework of how to enhance performance of the PV system and how to make good financial decisions. The findings help to enhance the knowledge of actual performance of PV systems and provide useful information for enhancement of PV systems design, control and economic assessment in the renewable power generation industry.