Maximizing performance: Determining the relative influence of key design elements on the performance grid connected solar photovoltaic systems in Geraldton, Western Australia

This paper investigates data collected from 17 recently installed grid connected solar PV systems in the town of Geraldton, Western Australia with the intention of determining the relative effects on performance of key design criteria. The influence of tilt, orientation, inverter efficiency, module efficiency and the sizing of the inverter are compared statistically to the performance of the systems over a three month period. The conclusion drawn from the data is that the most significant design elements are the tilt of the array and the orientation of the array and that shading can have significant effects on system output.