Simulation-Based Energy Assessment of PV Systems Installed in an Urban Environment
In this paper, a stochastic simulation procedure for energy assessment of PV systems is developed and tested. The method is especially adequate for urban applications since the impact of surrounding obstacles both for direct and diffuse irradiance is taken into account. The main input is the system location along with its monthly average irradiance and temperature statistics. Based on the input data, the program generates a set of random years represented by hourly sequences of global horizontal irradiance and ambient temperature. The generated sequences are then converted into the module plane-of-array irradiance and module temperature time series and, consequently, the AC energy production is estimated for each simulated year. The final results are presented in a form of probability density function of the system annual energy output.