Monitoring, measured and simulated performance analysis of a 2.4 kWp grid-connected PV system installed on the Mulhouse campus, France

Abstract This paper presents the performance analysis of a 2.4 kWp grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system installed in August 2018 at the Institute University of Technology (IUT) in Mulhouse, France. The analysis covers the results obtained from system monitoring from August 2018 to May 2020. Various performance parameters in accordance with the International Energy Agency IEC 61724 standard were calculated from the measured results, including the PV energy output and yield factor (YF), capacity utilization factor (CUF) and the avoided CO2 emissions. Then, the 2.4 kWp PV grid connected system is simulated using three widely used PV simulation software (PVGIS, PV Watts, and HOMER). The results obtained in terms of YF and CUF were compared with the results of PV systems installed on different continents (Europe, Asia and, Africa). The energy produced is estimated at 968.43 kWh, 3246.47 kWh and 1382.75 kWh for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 operating periods, respectively. For the year 2019, the PV system produces a YF of 3.75 kWh/kWp and a CUF of 15.65%. The total energy over the lifetime of the system and the amount of CO2 emissions avoided are 5597.65 kWh and 4.17 tons, respectively. Finally, the simulation results obtained by the three software are compared to the actual performance of the system. Regarding the measured values, the results of PV Watts and HOMER are close and both give underestimated values with an annual YF average of 1250.33–1250.83 kWh/kWp and a CUF of 14.36–14.27%, respectively. However, the results predicted by the PVGIS software are overestimated compared to the measured performance.