Effects of PV Panel and Battery Degradation on PV-Battery System Performance and Economic Profitability

The performance of the photovoltaics (PV) systems with integrated battery energy storage is influenced by key-components degradation over time. In long-term operation, this aspect can affect the overall economic profitability of the system. In this paper, the impacts of the degradation and the lifetime of the key components of the PV-battery system on economic profitability are investigated. The influences of PV panel and battery degradation on the electrical loading and lifetime of the power converters are also demonstrated. A case study reveals that the economic profitability reduces more than 35% due to the degradation over time in service. It is concluded that the performance degradation needs to be carefully considered when analysing the economic profitability of the PV-battery systems.