PV Module Energy Rating Standard IEC 61853-3 Intercomparison and Best Practice Guidelines for Implementation and Validation

The IEC 61853 standard series aims to provide a standardized measure for photovoltaic (PV) module energy rating, namely the Climate Specific Energy Rating (CSER). For this purpose, it defines procedures for the experimental determination of input data and algorithms for calculating the CSER. However, some steps leave room for interpretation regarding the specific implementation. To analyze the impact of these ambiguities, the comparability of results, and the clarity of the algorithm for calculating the CSER in Part 3 of the standard, an intercomparison is performed among research organizations with ten different implementations of the algorithm. We share the same input data, obtained by measurement of a commercial crystalline silicon PV module, among the participating organizations. Each participant then uses their individual implementations of the algorithm to calculate the resulting CSER values. The initial blind comparison reveals differences of 0.133 (14.7%) in CSER. After several comparison phases, a best practice approach is defined, which reduces the difference by a factor of 210 to below 0.001 (0.1%) in CSER for two independent PV modules. The best practice presented in this article establishes clear guidelines for the numerical treatment of the spectral correction and power matrix extrapolation, where the methods in the standard are not clearly defined. Additionally, we provide input data and results for the PV community to test their implementations of the standard's algorithm. To identify the source of the deviations, we introduce a climate data diagnostic set. Based on our experiences, we give recommendations for the future development of the standard.

Automated summary

The IEC 61853 standard series aims to provide a standardized measure for photovoltaic module energy rating, but implementation steps leave room for interpretation. An intercomparison among research organizations with ten different implementations of the algorithm reveals differences in CSER, which are reduced through the definition of a best practice approach.