IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i9p2203-d1643067.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Challenges and Opportunities in ILR Selection for Photovoltaic System: Evaluation in Brazilian Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Alex Vilarindo Menezes

    (Instituto de Tecnologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil)

  • José de Arimatéia Alves Vieira Filho

    (Instituto de Tecnologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil)

  • Wilson Negrão Macedo

    (Instituto de Tecnologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil)

Abstract

The sizing of photovoltaic (PV) systems has been a concern since the 1990s, particularly with the trend of inverter undersizing as PV module prices decrease. While many studies have assessed the behavior of AC energy and economic parameters with varying Inverter Load Ratios (ILRs), they often neglect the impact of degradation on system lifetime or fail to analyze how it influences ILR selection in depth. This study examines the relationship between DC loss curves and ILRs, their evolution over time, and their effects on efficiency and Final Yield. Simulating solar resources in 27 Brazilian cities, it evaluates clipping losses and optimal ILR values ranging from 0.8 to 2.0 for 28 recent inverters. The research aims to identify the ILR that minimizes the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) while maximizing Final Yield, revealing variations in optimal ILR ranges across different inverter–city combinations. The optimal ILR was between 1.1 and 1.3 for modern medium- and high-power inverters, while low-power inverters had a range of up to 1.8. The findings highlight that practical ILR considerations can overlook real-world challenges, leaving the system’s full potential untapped.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Vilarindo Menezes & José de Arimatéia Alves Vieira Filho & Wilson Negrão Macedo, 2025. "Challenges and Opportunities in ILR Selection for Photovoltaic System: Evaluation in Brazilian Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:9:p:2203-:d:1643067
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2203/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2203/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, H.X. & Muñoz-García, M.A. & Moreda, G.P. & Alonso-García, M.C., 2018. "Optimum inverter sizing of grid-connected photovoltaic systems based on energetic and economic considerations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 709-717.
    2. de Souza Almeida Neto, José César & Torres, Pedro Ferreira & Manito, Alex Renan Arrifano & Pinho, João Tavares & Zilles, Roberto, 2023. "A comparison study of grid impact of photovoltaic installations in Brazil according to Normative Resolution 482 and Federal law 14.300," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    3. Eltawil, Mohamed A. & Zhao, Zhengming, 2013. "MPPT techniques for photovoltaic applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 793-813.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dácil Díaz-Bello & Carlos Vargas-Salgado & Jesus Águila-León & Fabián Lara-Vargas, 2023. "Methodology to Estimate the Impact of the DC to AC Power Ratio, Azimuth, and Slope on Clipping Losses of Solar Photovoltaic Inverters: Application to a PV System Located in Valencia Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-25, February.
    2. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Twaha, Ssennoga & Ishaque, Kashif & Al-Turki, Yusuf A., 2017. "A review on maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic systems with and without shading conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 144-159.
    3. Yu-Pei Huang & Cheng-En Ye & Xiang Chen, 2018. "A Modified Firefly Algorithm with Rapid Response Maximum Power Point Tracking for Photovoltaic Systems under Partial Shading Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-33, August.
    4. Başoğlu, Mustafa Engin & Çakır, Bekir, 2016. "Comparisons of MPPT performances of isolated and non-isolated DC–DC converters by using a new approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1100-1113.
    5. Nebiyu Kedir & Phuong H. D. Nguyen & Citlaly Pérez & Pedro Ponce & Aminah Robinson Fayek, 2023. "Systematic Literature Review on Fuzzy Hybrid Methods in Photovoltaic Solar Energy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Guidance for Implementation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-38, April.
    6. Halder, P.K., 2016. "Potential and economic feasibility of solar home systems implementation in Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 568-576.
    7. Belkaid, A. & Colak, I. & Isik, O., 2016. "Photovoltaic maximum power point tracking under fast varying of solar radiation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 523-530.
    8. Ezhilmaran Ranganathan & Rajasekar Natarajan, 2022. "Spotted Hyena Optimization Method for Harvesting Maximum PV Power under Uniform and Partial-Shade Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-26, April.
    9. Balfour, John & Hill, Roger & Walker, Andy & Robinson, Gerald & Gunda, Thushara & Desai, Jal, 2021. "Masking of photovoltaic system performance problems by inverter clipping and other design and operational practices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    10. Syed Zulqadar Hassan & Hui Li & Tariq Kamal & Uğur Arifoğlu & Sidra Mumtaz & Laiq Khan, 2017. "Neuro-Fuzzy Wavelet Based Adaptive MPPT Algorithm for Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    11. Berrueta, Alberto & Heck, Michael & Jantsch, Martin & Ursúa, Alfredo & Sanchis, Pablo, 2018. "Combined dynamic programming and region-elimination technique algorithm for optimal sizing and management of lithium-ion batteries for photovoltaic plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1-11.
    12. Victor Andrean & Pei Cheng Chang & Kuo Lung Lian, 2018. "A Review and New Problems Discovery of Four Simple Decentralized Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms—Perturb and Observe, Incremental Conductance, Golden Section Search, and Newton’s Quadratic Int," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-25, November.
    13. Kumar, Gaurav & Panchal, Ashish K., 2014. "Geometrical prediction of maximum power point for photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 237-245.
    14. Lappalainen, Kari & Valkealahti, Seppo, 2022. "Sizing of energy storage systems for ramp rate control of photovoltaic strings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 1366-1375.
    15. Kumar, Gaurav & Trivedi, Milind B. & Panchal, Ashish K., 2015. "Innovative and precise MPP estimation using P–V curve geometry for photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 640-647.
    16. Ana Cabrera-Tobar & Eduard Bullich-Massagué & Mònica Aragüés-Peñalba & Oriol Gomis-Bellmunt, 2019. "Active and Reactive Power Control of a PV Generator for Grid Code Compliance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-25, October.
    17. Ram, J.Prasanth & Rajasekar, N. & Miyatake, Masafumi, 2017. "Design and overview of maximum power point tracking techniques in wind and solar photovoltaic systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1138-1159.
    18. Shaowu Li & Kunyi Chen & Qin Li & Qing Ai, 2022. "A Variable-Weather-Parameter MPPT Method Based on Equation Solution for Photovoltaic System with DC Bus," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-25, September.
    19. Poompavai, T. & Kowsalya, M., 2019. "Control and energy management strategies applied for solar photovoltaic and wind energy fed water pumping system: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 108-122.
    20. Suganthi, L. & Iniyan, S. & Samuel, Anand A., 2015. "Applications of fuzzy logic in renewable energy systems – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 585-607.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:9:p:2203-:d:1643067. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.