Oversizing the PV System to the Inverter Ratio

In recent years photovoltaic system design approaches have evolved. This system design philosophy has shifted as designers moved their design target to the array oversizing as panel prices have fallen. Rather than focusing on production efficiency and maximizing the output of each individual module, these designers have begun designing for maximum financial efficiency at the system level. In many cases, within a certain limit the incremental cost to increase PV array capacity is small compared to the value of the associated energy production gains. This enables system designers to capitalize on higher DC load ratios despite the potential for PV power generation to exceed inverter capacity during peak hours and associated clipping losses.

Meanwhile, oversizing becomes even further attractive when considering the value of daytime energy, also indicated as the Time-Of-Use (TOU) energy rate. System developers have more interest to increase DC load ratios when the value for the produced energy is high or when energy generated on a fixed period or daytime is subject to preferential on-peak pricing, increasing the DC load ratios enables designers to deliver more high-value electricity. To capitalize on energy values, designers oversize the dc-to-ac ratio so the inverters run at full power when energy is the most valuable.

During the webinar we will answer these big questions. Starting from a brief cost modeling consideration with the intention to illustrate the potential economic advantages, the technical considerations beyond the overload in order to assess the effects of the oversizing on the inverter life, discussing the capability of this inverter to handle higher DC load ratios and some of the key factors that must be taken into account from a system design perspective.