Lifetime Evaluation of Grid-Connected PV Inverters Considering Panel Degradation Rates and Installation Sites

Lifetime of Photovoltaic (PV) inverters is affected by the installation sites related to different solar irradiance and ambient temperature profiles (also referred to as mission profiles). In fact, the installation site also affects the degradation rate of the PV panels and, thus, long-term energy production and reliability. Prior-art lifetime analysis in PV inverters has not yet investigated the impact of PV panel degradations. This paper, thus, evaluates the lifetime of PV inverters considering panel degradation rates and mission profiles. Evaluations have been carried out on PV systems installed in Denmark and Arizona. The results reveal that the PV panel degradation rate has a considerable impact on the PV inverter lifetime, especially in the hot climate (e.g., Arizona), where the panel degrades at a faster rate. In that case, the PV inverter lifetime prediction can be deviated by 54%, if the impact of PV panel degradations is not taken into account.