Status Monitoring and Performance Evaluation of Photovoltaic Energy Systems

Abstract

This work presents the design concept, operating principles and the performance analysis of two photovoltaic energy systems installed for educational and research purposes at the faculty of Engineering - Cairo University. These systems are designed and fully monitored using two simple monitoring systems that provide increased flexibility if it compared to traditional schemes that need particular data logging system and special hardware design. The first system with total capacity of 5.1 kwp is feedingthe utility via grid tie inverter who plays an essential in monitoring the health of the system. The second system with total capacity of 1 kwp is feedingstandalone loads via a separate isolated inverter.