Photovoltaic

Design considerations and procedures for storage, location, mounting, ventilation, assembly, and maintenance of lead-acid storage batteries for photovoltaic power systems are provided in this standard. Safety precautions and instrumentation considerations are also included. Even though general recommended practices are covered, battery manufacturers may provide specific instructions for battery installation and maintenance.

This guide is specifically prepared for a PV/engine generator hybrid power system, but may also be applicable to all hybrid power systems where there is at least one renewable power source, such as PV, and a dispatchable power source, such as an engine generator. Taper-charge parameters for PV hybrid systems are suggested to help in preparing the battery for a capacity test. A test procedure is provided to ensure appropriate data acquisition, battery characterization, and capacity measurements. Finally, a process to review test results and make appropriate decisions regarding the battery is provided. No cycle-life predictions are made.

A method for properly sizing the PV array and battery for stand-alone PV systems where PV is the only charging source is recommended (in conjunction with IEEE Std 1013(TM)). Load calculations and determination of solar radiation in the sizing of the system need special attention. Additionally, the critical nature of the load in deciding an acceptable annual availability needs to be considered.

Tests to determine the performance of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems and for verifying PV system design are presented in this recommended practice. These tests apply only to complete systems with a defined load. Performance testing is conducted outdoors under prevailing conditions over a period of about one month. The tests are intended to assist designers, manufacturers, system integrators, system users, and laboratories that will conduct the tests. System safety and component reliability issues are not addressed in this recommended practice.

This guide is applicable to all stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems where PV is the only charging source. Stand-alone PV system parameters and operating conditions are discussed in relation to battery characteristics and expected system performance. Charging parameters for PV systems are suggested to help in the selection of a battery for a specific application. Finally, a performance test to verify the battery selection and system parameters is provided, including discussions on how to interpret test results. Test results only provide information on initial battery performance. No cycle-life predictions are made.

A method for determining the energy-capacity requirements (sizing) of both vented and valve-regulated lead-acid batteries used in terrestrial stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems is described in this recommended practice. Sizing batteries for hybrid or grid-connected PV systems is beyond the scope of this recommended practice. Installation, maintenance, safety, testing procedures, and consideration of battery types other than lead-acid are beyond the scope of this recommended practice. Recommended practices for the remainder of the electrical systems associated with PV installations are also beyond the scope of this recommended practice.

IEC TS 63157:2019 lays out recommendations for best practices for product realization, safety, customer satisfaction, and stakeholders' relationship used in the manufacture of power conversion equipment (PCE). This document captures key requirements customers would like to see completed to ensure high-quality products, specifically, that the products have the documented properties, including properties needed to give customer satisfaction with regard to the warranty. The object of this document is to provide more confidence in the ongoing consistency of performance and reliability of certified power conversion equipment. The requirements of this document are defined with the assumption that the quality management system of the organization has already fulfilled the requirements of ISO 9001 or equivalent quality management system. These guidelines also form the basis for factory audit criteria of such sites by various certifying and auditory bodies. This document covers manufacture of electronic power conversion equipment intended for use in terrestrial PV applications. The term PCE refers to equipment and components for electronic power conversion of electric power into another kind of electric power with respect to voltage, current and frequency. This document applies to PCE in both indoor and outdoor open-air climates as defined in IEC 60721-2-1 and IEC 60721-3-3. Such equipment may include, but is not limited to, DC-to-AC inverters, DC-to-DC converters and battery charge converters.

IEC TS 63156:2021 describes the procedure for evaluating the energy conversion performance of stand-alone or grid-connected power conversion equipment (PCE) used in PV systems. This procedure includes the calculation of inverter performance to anticipate the energy yield of PV systems. This evaluation method is based on standard power efficiency calculation procedures for PCE found in IEC 61683 and IEC 62891, but provides additional methods for evaluating the expected overall energy efficiency for a particular location given solar load profiles. This document can be used as the energy evaluation method for PCE in IEC TS 61724-3, which defines a procedure for evaluating a PV system’s actual energy production relative to its modeled or expected performance.

IEC TS 63126:2020 defines additional testing requirements for modules deployed under conditions leading to higher module temperature which are beyond the scope of IEC 61215-1 and IEC 61730-1 and the relevant component standards, IEC 62790 and IEC 62852. The testing conditions specified in IEC 61215-2 and IEC 61730-2 (and the relevant component standards IEC 62790 and IEC 62852) assumed that these standards are applicable for module deployment where the 98th percentile temperature (T98th), that is the temperature that a module would be expected to equal or exceed for 175,2 h per year, is less than 70 °C. This document defines two temperature regimes, temperature level 1 and temperature level 2, which were designed considering deployment in environments with mounting configurations such that the T98th is less than or equal to 80 °C for temperature level 1, and less than or equal to 90 °C for temperature level 2.

The purpose of this part of IEC 63106 is to provide recommendations for Low Voltage (LV) AC
power simulators used for testing utility interactive photovoltaic power conversion equipment
(PCE).
NOTE Low Voltage refers to 1 000 Va.c. and less.
The AC power simulators connect to the AC output power port of a PCE under test and simulate
the utility grid by generating comparable AC voltage.
The AC power simulators can be used to test a PCE’s utility interaction characteristics, including
protection, ride through, immunity and power quality. The requirements and procedures are
specified in IEC standards and local utility grid requirements, selected by the network operator,
utility, or authority having jurisdiction.