PV installations on complex roofs
PV installations on complex roofs
The perfect roof for a solar PV system is one that faces directly south and is free of superstructures. East-west roofs are also easy to handle with Delta inverters. But the reality is sometimes different - especially on commercial roofs, which have become more complex due to constant additions. However, with the right inverters, solar PV systems can be implemented with reasonable effort.
Solar PV systems on large, complex roofs have two main characteristics: large = many modules, complex = different module orientations.
This also defines the two main requirements for the inverters used: many modules = high connected load, and the different module orientations must also be manageable.
For a rough estimate of the number of modules that can be connected, let's use a typical rooftop solar module with M10 solar cells and 450 W maximum power. The total module power at the inverter is often scaled by a factor of 1.3 to get more power from the roof in low sun conditions. However, some of the energy will remain unused at full irradiation because the inverter can only draw a limited amount of current (which would correspond to a factor of 1.0).
Let's take the M100A with a maximum power of 110 kW. Then the estimated number of modules would be as follows:
110 kW x 1.3 = 143 kW total installed module power
143 kW total module power / 0,45 kW power per module ≈ 316 modules
The M100A has eight MPP trackers, each of which can be connected to two module strings for a total of 16. Each MPP tracker regulates the module strings connected to it to always achieve the optimum yield. This is done independently of the other MPP trackers. With eight MPP trackers, this means up to eight different module orientations.
This is a very simplified representation of the issue, but it shows that it doesn't really matter if you have a south-facing roof, an east-west roof, or something more complex. Please contact our sales and service staff to discuss your specific project.
