Performance monitoring results of the first grid-connected BIPV system in Colombia

This paper summarizes the operational performance results of the first grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system installed in Colombia (in BogotA, at 4'35' latitude and 2.580 m attitude) after two years of monitoring. The performance monitoring was carried out with a sophisticated monitoring system, designed and implemented by us using the virtual instrumentation concept. The following parameters were measured: DC and AC power, inverter and system conversion efficiency, energy generated by the PV array, AC energy produced by the BIPV system, parameters to analyze power quality (%THD, harmonic components, frequency, voltage, flickers, power factor, active power, apparent power and reactive power), solar radiation in the inclination plane of the panels and environment temperature. The data obtained allowed to evaluate the general performance and the quality of the electric power generated by the photovoltaic plant. The results indicated that the power generated by the grid-connected BIPV plant fulfills the specifications demanded for such systems by National and International standards. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.