Analysis of the Impact of Panel-to-Inverter Capacity Ratio on Energy Production and Economics of Solar Power Plants: A Case Study of Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 BSc Candidate, National University of Skills, Shiraz, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

4 Professor, School of Energy Engineering and Sustainable Resources, College of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of selecting an optimal panel-to-inverter capacity ratio on the electricity generation of photovoltaic (PV) power plants. To quantify the influence of this ratio on monthly energy yield across different climatic regions, PVsyst simulation software was employed. The energy output was assessed for five different ratios ranging from 0.90 to 1.14 across 100 locations throughout Iran. The percentage change in electricity production closely mirrors the percentage change in panel capacity, although this relationship varies by month and climate. Generally, for the months of May, June, July, and August, the variability in output across the studied locations is minimal. The predicted ranges of energy output variation due to changes in the panel-to-inverter capacity ratio are as follows: 1) For a ratio of 0.90 , the output change ranges from −11.81% to −11.64% (mean: −11.76%). 2) For a ratio of 0.96, the range is −5.91% to −5.77% (mean: −5.87%). 3) For a ratio of 1.08 , the output increase ranges from +5.32% to +5.90% (mean: +5.77%). 4) For a ratio of 1.14 , the output increase is between +10.12% and +11.78% (mean: +11.27%). Furthermore, if the increase in capital investment per percentage increase in panel capacity remains within the range of 90.5% to 100.3% and 86.1% to 100.2% for ratios of 1.08 and 1.14 respectively, the increase in the panel-to-inverter ratio would be considered economically justified. Among the scenarios analyzed, a ratio of 1.08 demonstrates the highest economic feasibility.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  • IEA R. Renewables 2023, Analysis and forecast to 2028. Paris: International Energy Agency. 2024.
  • Blakers A, Stocks M, Lu B, Cheng C. The observed cost of high penetration solar and wind electricity. Energy. 2021;233:121150.
  • Jowett P. https://wwwpv-magazinecom/2024/09/27/global-average-solar-lcoe-stood-at-0-044-kwh-in-2023-says-irena/. 2023.
  • Andria Kusuma V, Firdaus AA, Suprapto S, Yuniar R, Trimulya H, Priyanto Y. Comparative analysis of single-axis solar tracker performance with and without reflector under various weather conditions. International Journal of Applied Power Engineering (IJAPE). 2024;13:328.
  • Fathi A, Bararzadeh Ledari M, Saboohi Y. Evaluation of Optimal Occasional Tilt on Photovoltaic Power Plant Energy Efficiency and Land Use Requirements, Iran. Sustainability. 2021;13(18):10213.
  • Oli A, Sharma S, Neupane D, Khanal S, Labh SK. Comparative Study on Efficiency Analysis of Fixed and Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System. 2024;3:81-6.
  • Fathi A, Yousefi H, Komarizadeh A, Salehi M, Choubineh K, Ghahremani L. Cost-Effective Dual-Axis Solar Tracker with Enhanced Performance. Environmental Energy and Economic Research. 2022;6(3):1-13.
  • Fathi A, Salehi M, Komarizadeh A, Choubineh K, Golkar S, Ghahremani L. Evaluating a Dual-Axis Solar Tracker’s Performance on Cloudy and Partly Cloudy Days. Journal of Sustainable Energy Systems. 2021;1(1):71-81.
  • Kazem HA, Chaichan MT, Al-Waeli AHA, Sopian K. Recent advancements in solar photovoltaic tracking systems: An in-depth review of technologies, performance metrics, and future trends. Solar Energy. 2024;282:112946.
  • Neelima K, Navya Y, Aishwarya L, Bhanutej JN. Smart Solar Energy System with IoT-Enabled Tracking. E3S Web of Conferences. 2025;616.
  • Barbón A, Carreira-Fontao V, Bayón L, Spagnuolo G. Energy, environmental and economic analysis of the influence of the range of movement limit on horizontal single-axis trackers at photovoltaic power plants. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2025;489:144637.
  • Imad Hazim H, Azmi Baharin K, Kim Gan C, Sabry AH. Techno-economic optimization of photovoltaic (PV)-inverter power sizing ratio for grid-connected PV systems. Results in Engineering. 2024;23:102580.
  • Fakouriyan S, Saboohi Y, Fathi A. Experimental analysis of a cooling system effect on photovoltaic panels' efficiency and its preheating water production. Renewable Energy. 2019;134:1362-8.
  • Väisänen J, Kosonen A, Ahola J, Sallinen T, Hannula T. Optimal sizing ratio of a solar PV inverter for minimizing the levelized cost of electricity in Finnish irradiation conditions. Solar Energy. 2019;185:350-62.
  • Haidar ZA, Orfi J, Kaneesamkandi Z. Experimental investigation of evaporative cooling for enhancing photovoltaic panels efficiency. Results in Physics. 2018;11:690-7.
  • Salehi R, Jahanbakhshi A, Ooi JB, Rohani A, Golzarian MR. Study on the performance of solar cells cooled with heatsink and nanofluid added with aluminum nanoparticle. International Journal of Thermofluids. 2023;20:100445.
  • Srithar K, Akash K, Nambi R, Vivar M, Saravanan R. Enhancing photovoltaic efficiency through evaporative cooling and a solar still. Solar Energy. 2023;265:112134.
  • Deepthi Jayan K. Design and Comparative Performance Analysis of High-Efficiency Lead-Based and Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cells. physica status solidi (a). 2022;219(7):2100606.
  • Saboohi Y, Fathi A, Škrjanc I, Logar V. EAF Heat Recovery from Incident Radiation on Water‐Cooled Panels Using a Thermophotovoltaic System: A Conceptual Study. steel research international. 2018;89(4):1700446.
  • Tavakol-Moghaddam Y, Saboohi Y, Fathi A. Optimal design of solar concentrator in multi-energy hybrid systems based on minimum exergy destruction. Renewable Energy. 2022;190:78-93.
  • Fathi A, Ghayedhosseini A, Salehi M. Optimizing Wind-Solar Power Plants: Novel Structures for Identifying Potential Sites and Capacity Ratios in Iran. Journal of Energy Management and Technology. 2023;7(3):153-64.
  • Peippo K, Lund PD. Optimal sizing of solar array and inverter in grid-connected photovoltaic systems. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 1994;32(1):95-114.
  • Mondol JD, Yohanis YG, Norton B. Optimal sizing of array and inverter for grid-connected photovoltaic systems. Solar Energy. 2006;80(12):1517-39.
  • Kazem HA. Optimal Sizing of Photovoltaic Systems Using HOMER for Sohar, Oman. https://wwwresearchgatenet/publication/260106045_Optimal_Sizing_of_Photovoltaic_Systems_Using_HOMER_for_Sohar_Oman. 2013.
  • Faranda RS, Hafezi H, Leva S, Mussetta M, Ogliari E. The Optimum PV Plant for a Given Solar DC/AC Converter. Energies. 2015;8(6):4853-70.
  • Hazim HI, Baharin KA, Gan CK, Sabry AH, Humaidi AJ. Review on Optimization Techniques of PV/Inverter Ratio for Grid-Tie PV Systems. Applied Sciences. 2023;13(5):3155.
  • Bahloul M, Khadem S. A refined method for optimising inverter loading ratio in utility-scale photovoltaic power plant. Energy Reports. 2024;12:5110-5.
  • Kumar M, Kumar A. Performance assessment and degradation analysis of solar photovoltaic technologies: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2017;78:554-87.
  • Vinod, Kumar R, Singh SK. Solar photovoltaic modeling and simulation: As a renewable energy solution. Energy Reports. 2018;4:701-12.
  • Adamo F, Attivissimo F, Di Nisio A, Spadavecchia M. Characterization and testing of a tool for photovoltaic panel modeling. IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement. 2011;60(5):1613-22.
  • Patcharaprakiti N, Kirtikara K, Monyakul V, Chenvidhya D, Thongpron J, Sangswang A, et al. Modeling of single phase inverter of photovoltaic system using Hammerstein–Wiener nonlinear system identification. Current Applied Physics. 2010;10(3, Supplement):S532-S6.
  • Dash PP, Kazerani M. Dynamic modeling and performance analysis of a grid-connected current-source inverter-based photovoltaic system. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. 2011;2(4):443-50.
  • Kaleshwarwar A, Bahadure S. Validating the credibility of solar simulation tools using a real-world case study. Energy and Buildings. 2023;301:113697.
  • 7 most popular solar PV system design and simulation software 2019 [Available from: https://www.dsneg.com/info/7-most-popular-solar-pv-system-design-and-simu-34226867.html.
  • Tools SD. SolarPro software 2025 [Available from: https://www.solardesigntools.com/solarpro.
  • ul HEb. HOMER PRO Software 2025 [Available from: https://www.homerenergy.com/products/pro/index.html.
  • PV*Planner software 2025 [Available from: https://www.pvplanner.de/.
  • PVF-Chart. PV F-CHART: Photovoltaic systems analysis software 2025 [Available from: https://fchartsoftware.com/pvfchart/.
  • P. (2023). PVsyst Software Help Documentation (Version 7.2). 2023 [Available from: https://www.pvsyst.com.
  • Canada NR. RETScreen Expert software 2025 [Available from: https://www.gc.ca/maps-tools-publications/tools/modelling-tools/retscreen/7465.
  • National Renewable Energy L. System Advisor Model (SAM) software. 2025.
  • Folsom L. HelioScope software. 2025.
  • Software V. PV*SOL premium simulation software 2025 [Available from: https://www.valentin-software.com/en/products/photovoltaics/94/pvsol-premium.
  • Inc O. OpenSolar platform 2025 [Available from: https://www.opensolar.com.
  • technologies S. SolarEdge Dsigner 2025 [Available from: https://designer.solaredge.com.
  • Commission IE. IEC 61853-1: Photovoltaic (PV) module performance testing and energy rating—Part 1: Irradiance and temperature performance measurements and power rating. 2016.
  • Green MA. Solar Cells: Operating Principles, Technology, and System : Prentice Hall.; 1982.
  • Barbuscia M. Economic viability assessment of floating photovoltaic energy. Work Pap. 2018;1(1):1-11.
  • AEG; 2025 [Available from: https://aeg-solar.com/service/downloads/.
  • GROWATT; 2025 [Available from: https://growatt.tech/product/growatt-mid-20ktl3-xh/.
Journal of sustainable Energy Systems
Volume 5, Issue 1
January 2026
Pages 39-55

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics