Experience and analysis of PV inverter lifetime under the influence of installation locations related to different profiles of solar radiation and ambient temperature, as well as reliability evaluation based on Monte Carlo simulation

Lifetime of PV inverters is affected by the installation sites related to different solar irradianceand ambient temperature profiles (also referred to as mission profiles). In fact, the installationsite also affects the degradation rate of the PV panels, and thus long-term energy productionand reliability. Prior-art lifetime analysis in PV inverters has not yet investigated the impact ofPV panel degradations. This paper thus evaluates the lifetime of PV inverters considering paneldegradation rates and mission profiles. Evaluations have been carried out on PV systemsinstalled in Iran. The results reveal that the PV panel degradation rate has a considerable impacton the PV inverter lifetime, especially in the hot climate (e.g., Yazd), where the panel degradesat a faster rate. In that case, the PV inverter lifetime prediction can be deviated by ۵۴%, if theimpact of PV panel degradations is not taken into account.

Keywords:

PV inverters , lifetime , reliability , mission profile , degradation , Monte Carlo method