Photovoltaic inverter: Thermal characterization to identify critical components

The renewable energy industry has been growing remarkably over the last years and the recent Fukushima nuclear crisis has given a further incentive worldwide. In this context, solar radiation represents one of the most accessible and clean energy resources thus the number and scale of photovoltaic (PV) systems installed grows, so does the size of the associated investments, and the related opportunities and risks. It therefore becomes increasingly important for developers and investors the assessment of the quality, reliability and electrical performances of their PV plants. PV systems are highly reliable, but like any complex system, they may fail. Neglecting the effects of those failures may lead to unreasonably optimistic performance and life cycle cost predictions. In this paper a study of the thermal characterization of a PV inverter is proposed in order to individuate its critical components. The final aim is a proposal of a reliable design solution considering the real condition of use for the plant and, consequently, an improvement of the PV inverter yield. At the same time, the study allows to optimize both the availability and the maintainability of the inverter hence of the whole PV plant.