Calculated effect of central DC/AC power conversion from PV generators with different orientations

The energy production of two PV/inverter configurations for a grid-connected PV power system consisting of roof and facade integrated subarrays with five different orientations and tilt angles was predicted by computer simulations. These calculations show that the total DC energy production of the system is practically not affected if the subarrays have one central inverter and all operate at the same maximum power point. Application of one central inverter for such a system geometry may lead to a reduction of the specific kWh costs of approximately 4% due to lower specific costs and higher efficiency of large inverters and because the central inverter can be undersized to a larger extent than the 5 smaller inverters