Influence of Site and System Parameters on the Performance of Roof-Top Grid-Connected PV Systems Installed in Harlequins, Belfast, Northern Ireland

The problem of energy scarcity has hit a global scale because of the dependency of most of the energy generation on non-renewable sources (e.g., fossil fuels). As in supply and demand laws, the lower the amount of energy provided, the more expensive it becomes, causing a major problem for the industry in general, which is dependent on it. These non-renewable energy sources contribute to environmental degradation effects and depletion of the ozone layer from the atmosphere. To reduce this effect, the use of renewable energy sources which is environmentally friendly has been on the growing index across the globe. Solar photovoltaic cells transform solar energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. Solar energy can minimise the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the generation of electricity from fossil fuels since the only CO2 emissions associated with the generation of fossil fuels are those in their production. Solar PV electricity is more environmentally friendly since it is carbon-free at the point of generation compared to fossil fuel generation. In this paper, we examine the various site and system parameters that influence the performance of the 49.92 kWp roof-top grid-connected PV system installed at Harlequins, Belfast, Northern Ireland using a five-year dataset (from 2017-2021). The site parameters examined are ambient temperature, relative humidity, irradiation, wind speed and air pressure while the system parameters examined are inverter efficiency, system performance ratio, system efficiency, fill factor, DC array and AC final yields, DC array capture loss, AC system loss and normalised output power efficiency. The result of our analysis shows that an increase in ambient temperature, solar cell temperature, relative humidity and solar irradiation decreases the PV system performance output while an increase in wind speed reduces both ambient and solar cell temperatures but increases dust accumulation on the surface of the solar panel. An increase in air pressure increases the solar irradiation and AC power output generations.