Development of a Grid-Tied Inverter Test Protocol for Non-Stimulated Conditions

The lack of consistently high performance from inverters has created numerous issues in the widespread application and confidence in grid-tied photovoltaic systems. Additionally, the lack of a metric by which inverter manufacturers can evaluate their products presents a challenge to manufacturers by not allowing them to distinguish their products from those of their competitor, and to users since there is no way of comparing seemingly-similar models. This problem is further compounded by the dearth of inverters that have high performance and reliability [1]. This document is the first draft of a test protocol under development at the Florida Solar Energy Center to assist in this area. A need for such a test protocol has been recognized nationally, and it is hoped that this document may provide a foundation for future test procedures while providing significant and reasonable findings in the interim.