Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440

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Solar Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Review

A review of photovoltaic systems: Design, operation and maintenance T

a,⁎ a b
Luis Hernández-Callejo , Sara Gallardo-Saavedra , Víctor Alonso-Gómez
a
Department of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry, University of Valladolid (UVa), Campus Universitario Duques de Soria, 42004 Soria, Spain
b
Department of Physics, University of Valladolid (UVa), Campus Universitario Duques de Soria, 42004 Soria, Spain

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords:
Design of photovoltaic systems
Operation of photovoltaic systems
Maintenance of photovoltaic systems
Nowadays renewable energies are becoming more important in the generation of electricity. Fossil resources do
not present a sustainable option for the future since they are non-renewable sources of energy that contribute to
environmental pollution.
Within the sources of renewable generation, photovoltaic energy is the most used, and this is due to a large
number of solar resources existing throughout the planet. At present, the greatest advances in photovoltaic
systems (regardless of the efficiency of different technologies) are focused on improved designs of photovoltaic
systems, as well as optimal operation and maintenance. This work intends to make a review of the photovoltaic
systems, where the design, operation and maintenance are the key points of these systems. Within the design, the
critical components of the system and their own design are revised. Regarding the operation, it is reviewed the
general operation and the operation of hybrid systems, as well as the power quality. Finally, in relation to the
maintenance of PV systems, it has been studied their performance, thermography and electroluminescence, dirt,
risks and failure modes.

1. Introduction
As mentioned in the abstract, renewable energies are a reality in the
current electricity landscape. The reduction of CO2 emissions, increased
efficiency of renewable technologies, are some of the keys to their in-
tegration in electricity networks.
Today, the use of electric power is a basic need around the world. As
it has been said above, the global use of electrical energy is increasing
due to the growth and development of populations. Fossil resources are
not a sustainable option for the future, since they are non-renewable
sources of energy and they contribute to environmental pollution.
Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of non-renewable
resources, with renewable energy playing a key role in the future.
At this time, solar energy is the most used in the world, and in
addition, it is clean and without noise. The above characteristics make
photovoltaic technology one of the most desired within the renewable.
By the end of 2015, circa 230 GW of photovoltaic energy were in-
stalled (Simons, 2018). The last years have been accompanied by the
increase in the installation of photovoltaic solar plants, and of great
power.
The design of the photovoltaic plants is critical to obtain high per-
formance in electricity production. To do this, performing an optimum
operation and maintenance of photovoltaic plants is crucial. The
operation maximizes the output of the plant, while the maintenance
makes it more efficient, as low levels of production and failures can be
easily identified. Therefore, this work focuses on the lines of research
shown in Fig. 1.
Considering the aforementioned, this work aims to review the
photovoltaic systems, where the design, operation and maintenance are
the keys of these systems. The work is structured as follows: Section 2
focuses on the design works of photovoltaic systems, taking into ac-
count the criticality of some of its fundamental components. Section 3
presents the works focused on the operation of photovoltaic systems.
Section 4 shows the maintenance work of photovoltaic systems. Finally,
Section 5 shows the conclusions. The pie chart in Fig. 2 shows the re-
ferences used throughout the paper divided into the main topics ad-
dressed.
2. Design of photovoltaic systems
In this section, two types of work are presented. Firstly, those works
related to the critical components of a photovoltaic system, and sec-
ondly the work related to the design of photovoltaic systems. Design of
Photovoltaic Systems can be approached as shown in Fig. 3.

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: luis.hernandez.callejo@uva.es (L. Hernández-Callejo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.06.017
Received 18 March 2019; Received in revised form 3 June 2019; Accepted 5 June 2019
Available online 15 June 2019
0038-092X/ © 2019 International Solar Energy Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al. Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440

Fig. 1. Research lines of photovoltaic systems.

Fig. 2. Pie chart with the references used divided by topic.

Fig. 3. Classification of design of photovoltaic systems.

2.1. Critical component of a photovoltaic system
Solar photovoltaic cells are based on the photoelectric effect on
semiconductor materials. This establish that, in some conditions, one
electron on a material can absorbs a photon. Therefore, the electron
gains the energy associated to that photon, given by Eq. (1):
h·c
E = h·ν =
λ (1)
where E is the photon energy for its frequency, ν , or its wavelength, λ . h
is Planck’s constant and c , the speed of light.
A semiconductor material is a crystalline solid in which bonded
electrons (valence electrons) and free electrons (conduction electrons),
are allowed only in some energy values, with a forbidden band of en-
ergies between both, called energy gap. This explains the rare proper-
ties of semiconductors.
In an ideal electrical insulator, all the electrons are tied in chemical
bonds between atoms, so all of them are valence electrons. On the other
hand, in an ideal electrical conductor, most of the electrons in higher
energy levels are almost free to move among the whole solid, that is,
they are conduction electrons.
But in a semiconductor, the number of electrons in the conduction
band can be modified depending on some factors like temperature,
composition, electric field, magnetic field, etc. The full explanation of
this topic exceeds the purpose of this article but expert people will
understand concepts such as level of doping, type of dopant, intrinsic
and extrinsic properties of the semiconductor or whether it is direct or
indirect gap type. More information about semiconductor principles
can be found in Pierret (1983).
In this framework is possible to understand the absorption of a
photon by an electron in the conduction band and its jump to the
conduction band, where it can contributes to the electric current across
the material. However, this can only occurs if the photon energy is
equal or higher than the energy associated to the energy gap of that
semiconductor. Furthermore, an electron in the conduction band can
lose part of its energy by various types of processes, and fall to the

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L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
valence band. This is possible because there are free energy levels in
this band due to the fact that some electrons are in the conduction
bands (either by thermal effects or by the effect of dopants).
Usually, in electronics, free electrons in the conduction band are just
called electrons, and free energy levels in the valence band, holes
(because it can be seen as a vacancy of an electron).
The process of raising an electron to the conduction band is called
creation of a pair electron-hole, because a free electron leaves a free
energy vacancy in the valence band, that is, a hole.
The reverse process, the fall of an electron from the conduction to
the valence band, is called an annihilation of a pair electron-hole. There
are more complex processes but we are not going to talk about them.
An ideal crystalline semiconductor is only made of atoms of its own
net, perfectly ordered. Those atoms can be of only one type, like in
Silicon (Si) or Germanium (Ge); of two types, like Galium Arsenide
(GaAs) or Cadmium Telluride (CdTe); or even more complex formulas,
like Indium-Gallium-Arsenide (InGaAs). For the sake of simplicity, we
are going to focus only in Si semiconductors.
Silicon has 4 valence electrons, so it can made 4 covalent bonds. If a
very little portion of those Si atoms are replaced by an element with
only 3 valence electrons, like Boron (B), one of the four surrounding Si
atoms can’t form a bond, so there is a hole in that place. If the Si atom is
replaced by an element with 5 valence electrons, like Phosphorus (P),
there will be one electron left over that cannot form a bond and will
become part of the conduction band. This process of substitution is
called semiconductor doping.
Suppose we had a single hole in a semiconductor. That hole could be
treated like a positive charge which formerly has the same effect that all
the electrons in the valence band forming bonds minus one. This po-
sitive charge has the charge of an electron but with positive (p) instead
negative (n) sign. Consequently, in electronics we talk of holes, that is,
p-type charges, in the valence band and free electrons, that is, n-type
charges, in the conduction band.
Said that, we can think of p-type doped materials, if we have more
holes than free electrons; or n-type doped materials, if we had more free
electrons than holes. If Si is not doped, there should be the same
amount of holes and free electrons. But if we dope the material, we
create the excess of one of the types, p or n. Then, we talk about an n-
doped or a p-doped semiconductor. Simplifying, n semiconductor o p
semiconductor.
The fact that there are more or less electrons in the valence or
conduction bands should not be confused with the fact that matter has a
net charge other than zero at a macroscopic level. Initially, matter must
be assumed to be electrically neutral. That is, it has the same number of
electrons as protons. Positive charges associated with voids are simply a
mathematical trick to better understand how semiconductors work.
And this don’t even change with doping (ideally).
Once understood the two types of doped semiconductors, we can
talk about the p-n junction. A p-n junction is the joining of a sheet of p-
type semiconductor with an n-type sheet. This is done in a way much
more complex than just putting them together, but is not the question
here. Interested readers can find more information at (Neudeck, 1983).
When a zone with excess of holes (p) is joined with a zone with
excess of conducting electrons (n), there is a zone near the junction
boundary in which free electrons can lose energy and occupy one of the
free holes. This is called the depletion zone, because all the bonds in
this area are filled and there is no free electrons available for con-
ducting electricity.
But now, there are more electrons than protons in the originally p-
type sheet, because they have come from the conduction band of the n-
type sheet. In a similar way, in the n-type sheet, there are now more
protons than electrons. So, there is now a negatively charged zone in
the p-type sheet and a positively charged one in the n-type sheet.
Consequently, now exists an electric field in this area, directed from the
zone with excess of positive charges (on the n side of the joint) to the
zone with excess of negative charges (on the p side of the joint).
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
Equivalently, this electric field can be seen from the point of view of an
electric potential difference between the two zones, with more potential
in the zone with excess of positive charges.
In conclusion, this p-n junction is said to be naturally polarized. And
this natural polarization prevents free electrons from n-zone crossing to
holes in p-zone, because they would have to overcome that potential
barrier. This is the basis of a diode (with the exception that metallic
contacts are also needed in the outer sides of the semiconductor).
When a diode is connected to an electrical source with the p-zone
connected to the higher potential and the n-zone to the lower one, the
diode is said to be connected in direct polarization. In this situation,
free electrons from n-type zone can gain the necessary energy to cross
the depletion zone (remember that the force for negative charges is in
the opposite direction of the electric field), and arrive to the p-type
zone. Once here, they could annihilate with a hole and fall to valence
band. Simultaneously, electrons in the p-zone bonds feel a force that
helps them to eventually jump to nearby holes. The net result is that
electrons in the p-zone fill all the holes closest to the metallic zone (the
furthest from the depletion zone) and holes are concentrated in the
zone near the p-n junction. Then, some electrons from border jumps to
the metal and flows to the source higher potential side (usually, +
mark). Furthermore, electrons from the source lower potential flows to
the metallic connection and enters the n-zone, restoring those which
crossed the depletion zone.
On the contrary, if diode is connected to source just the other way
round, the depletion zone grows in both sides, p and n zones. This is
called reverse polarization and, obviously, increases the electric field
which free electrons from n-zone should overcome to reach p-zone.
Consequently, electric flow across diode is impossible, so the diode acts
as a current blocking element. This is true until a threshold voltage is
exceeded, at which point the diode breaks (permanently), resulting in a
short circuit or an open circuit.
A photovoltaic cell is, simplifying, a diode designed to absorbs
photons with energies over the semiconductor gap threshold. As we had
said, once a photon is absorbed, a pair electron-hole is created.
If this happens in the p-side, the free electron will quickly fall down
to the valence band, because in this zone there are a lot of holes to
annihilate with. So, photons absorbed in p-side are not interesting for
the electrical current production.
If this happens in the n-side, the electron from the pair electron-
hole, could survive more time, but the hole will annihilate with another
electron from the conduction band. As n-side is plenty of free electrons,
this is also very quick. So, the problem is more or less the same, because
the total number of free electrons in this side remains constant.
However, if the photon is absorbed in the depletion zone or very
close, the created hole-electron pair will feel the existing electric field in
that junction zone, so they will move according to their charge. So the
hole (positive) will move in the direction of the field, but the electron
(negative) will move in the opposite direction. In this conditions, the
hole will go to the p-zone and the electron to the n-zone.
This process, repeated many times, will create a disequilibrium in
the diode, with a net accumulation of positive charge in the p-zone and
a negative charge in the n-zone. We have then a difference of potential
between both zones of the diode, but the natural polarization of the
junction zone prevents electrons from crossing from zone n to p to re-
combine with a hole. So, this voltage will remains until we connect
them with a wire from the metallic contacts on the outside.
The complete explanation is more complex and there are another
routes of recombination of electrons with holes, but this is the one we
are interested in, because is the necessary for the use of this special
diodes, called photovoltaic cells, as a current source.
Cells themselves have also more complex designs, with more layers
responsible of better capturing photons, preventing light from reflecting
and guide it into the cell, avoiding recombination, minimizing series
resistance, maximizing parallel resistance, etc.
Having understood all of the above, we are in a position to
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
Fig. 4. One diode model for a solar cell.
understand that the simplest model that reflects the functioning of a
solar cell is one with a current source, a diode, a resistance in series
with them and another in parallel. This model is reflected in Fig. 4 and
is mathematically modelled by Eq. (2).
V + R SI
( )
eV + R SI
I = IL − I0 (T) e mkT −1 −
RP (2)
where I is the real current flowing outside the cell, IL is the theoretical
current created by the absorption of light and the electron-hole pairs
created, I0 (T) is the diode reverse bias saturation current (dependant of
the temperature, T ), e is the electron charge, V is the voltage difference
among terminals of the cell, RS is the series resistance of the cell, m is
the diode ideality factor, k is the Boltzmann constant and RP is the
parallel resistance of the cell.
This can also model the I-V characteristic of the photovoltaic cell
under illumination conditions, which is showed in Fig. 5. For more
information about this and other more complex models, see Tiwari and
Dubey (2010).
The most significant parameters that characterizes a cell are showed
in this I-V curve, which are: the short circuit current (ISC ), the open
circuit voltage (VOC ), the maximum power point current (Impp ), the
maximum power point voltage (Vmpp ) and the fill factor (FF ), also called
form factor sometimes.
The critical element of a photovoltaic system is the photovoltaic
inverter, photovoltaic module aside. Therefore, the research advances
in converters are fundamental. It can be concluded that the converter is
a fundamental piece in photovoltaic systems.
Fernandes et al. (2017) model a control strategy using Matlab/Si-
mulink, which is based on the state space equations of a photovoltaic
generator connected through a power converter. Through the for-
mulation of Ackermann and through a specific characteristic poly-
nomial, the control conditions are simulated. The authors validated the
model by feeding a load through the converter, and for this, the con-
verter delivered a constant voltage. The simulated model used different
Fig. 5. I-V characteristic curve of a solar cell.
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
scenarios at different irradiances.
Yu et al. (2015) propose an H-cascade bridge converter providing
greater reliability against faults than those installed so far. The pro-
posed converter is capable of maintaining three-phase mains currents
balanced during faults with uneven energy generation caused by un-
even solar irradiation and/or by the different temperatures of each
module, applicable for medium voltage and high power. Also note-
worthy are the reduced switching losses it produces, as well as greater
efficiency in the conversion of direct current to grid power. The effi-
ciency of the results obtained in the control of both single and double
bridge failures has been verified in a laboratory prototype of 430 V, 10
kW.
A new converter model is presented by Hu and Gong (2015), where
this device is based on a novel input-parallel output-series boost con-
verter. The reduction of the ripple of the delivery current is achieved by
the parallel coupling of the inductor windings. The system is completed
by the series coupling of a capacitor with the inductor windings.
It is possible to design and model a controller for a photovoltaic
system implemented by a converter with the single-ended primary in-
ductance converter, as shown by Chiang et al. (2009). The designed
prototype is 80 W, and it uses the peak-current-mode control with a
voltage command determined by the control of the Maximum Power
Point Tracking (MPPT) of the photovoltaic module and the battery
charging loop.
Bhaskar et al. (2017) design and implement a transformerless con-
verter, and where this device is a multi-stage and self-balanced con-
verter. The input voltage is 24 V and its nominal power is 60 W, and the
device has a frequency and output voltage of 100 kHz and 100 V re-
spectively.
Duman et al. (2017) propose to modulate the multilevel power
converter configuration for grid-connected photovoltaic systems. The
design is modular, reusable and scalable, and in addition, the converter
adds a voltage stabilizer for each of the modules to be installed.
As has been shown, the researchers focus their work on the design
and modeling of converters for photovoltaic systems. Although the base
of the converter is classic, new devices are designed, implemented and
validated. In terms of validation, some authors focus their work on
numerical simulations, while others implement their designs in novel
prototypes.
2.2. Design of a photovoltaic system
As everyone knows, photovoltaic technology can be used for various
applications. Specifically, Fig. 6 shows the main applications of the
photovoltaic sector.
One of the main problems of decentralized rural electrification with
solar home systems is the dispersion of houses and the difficult access in
order to perform maintenance functions. Private companies have the
problem of establishing the implementation of maintenance structures
to operate and guarantee the service of solar systems for a period of
more than 10 years. Following the above, Carrasco et al. (2015) propose
an innovative design tool created for rural photovoltaic electrification
in Morocco. The model uses location and transport as variables, and this
model is based on a mixed linear mathematical model. Based on the
number of vehicles and their maintenance, the tool tries to optimize the
total cost of the maintenance structure in Morocco (PREG program in
Morocco). The mathematical model has been applied in 3 of the 9
provinces of the PREG program and the results show that, in two pro-
vinces, the results coincide with the actual data, and in the other one,
the maintenance structure has been optimized by reducing the number
of technicians per solar home system, and thus the cost has been re-
duced by 19.5%. Also, the local agency has been moved to optimize the
transfers for maintenance. Through the data, the potential utility of this
tool is demonstrated.
Old and new buildings must incorporate systems that increase their
energy efficiency. Following with the above, Fan and Xia (2017)
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
Fig. 6. Applications of the photovoltaic sector.
present a multiobjective optimization model, consisting of the in-
stallation of solar panels on the roof, the wrapping of the building in-
cluding windows, exterior walls and ceilings. The objective of the study
is to maximize energy savings and minimize the recovery period.
In summary, Spertino and Corona (2017) show a compilation of the
information generated by 13 photovoltaic installations with different
characteristics in terms of location, height and design. This study is part
of the European Project PERSIL. The design influences in the efficiency
of the cells while the location and height will influence the radiation
that the panels will receive, so that at a higher height and without
obstacles (at the peak of a mountain), the radiation will be greater than
in a valley where the shadows generated by the trees will interrupt the
radiation; on the other hand, the outskirts of the city are a more con-
ducive environment than the center, since the radiation is higher, in the
center of the city, the pollution is higher than it disperses the radiation.
The parameters used to determine the evolution of the different
facilities are: daily energy produced in the side of Alternating Current
(AC), annual performance, reference performance and the relation of
performance. From the results analyzed it is obtained that 3 facilities
are excellent, 5 facilities have poor performance and the rest average
performance. From the results obtained, basic guidelines for the design,
installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems are de-
termined. Table 1 shows the guidelines for the design, installation and
maintenance of PV systems, after the analysis of (Spertino and Corona,
2017).
3. Operation of photovoltaic systems
This section will present works related to the general operation of
photovoltaic systems and to the operation of hybrid systems, which are
formed by photovoltaic systems and the power quality issue. Operation
of Photovoltaic Systems can be approached as shown in Fig. 7.
3.1. General operation
As indicated by Zhao et al. (2000), the operation of a photovoltaic
plant is supported by other processes, for example: monitoring, control,
simulation, optimization, diagnosis of existing faults, stop production,
the start of production and operation of all of them.
In order to estimate photovoltaic production, it is necessary to an-
ticipate the value of the existing resource (irradiance). In the area of
forecasting, the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) is widespread,
and Monteiro et al. (2017) analyze seven training algorithms used in
ANNs, for the forecast of the active power generated. The results ob-
tained through ANN surpass the results of other works with Support
Vector Machine (SVM) and the Kalman Filter (KF). According to the
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
authors, to improve the model it is necessary to use the temperature of
the cell. The results are summarized in Table 2, where the Mean Ab-
solute Percentage Error (MAPE) and the Root Mean Squared Error
(RMSE) are shown.
For an adequate adjustment of the active power of the network,
Thao and Uchida (2017) propose a control strategy based on fuzzy
logic, where there are two hierarchical levels. Photovoltaic systems
have battery banks to regulate the frequency of the network. Each
photovoltaic system has a central controller and many local controllers.
Solanki and Patel (2016) study the use of photovoltaic systems for
the regulation of the voltage of the network. The power flow is analyzed
by simulations in MATLAB/Simulink. The authors show that the in-
creased penetration of renewable generation sources causes an increase
in stress in the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). The regulation of this
voltage must be undertaken, so photovoltaic plants must have investors
with this quality.
Rajesh et al. (2016) propose an approach of Implementation of
adaptive photovoltaic systems with MPPT, for the operation of a mi-
crogrid in mode island. The authors propose efficient coordination
among all its elements: control of the inverter V-f, control of the P-Q
inverter, control of the MPPT and control of the existing storage. Also,
the control strategy used is to take care of the State of Charge (SOC) of
the battery unit. The authors present three cases.
Case I:
The initial situation with the islanded microgrid and the distribution
grid supplying power to its loads, 80 kW and 120 kW respectively. The
excess energy generated is accumulated in the batteries, charging when
in island mode.
Case II:
The power of the distribution grid is 50 kW and that of the micro-
grid is reduced to 10 kW. Initially, the microgrid is in island mode, until
0.5 s, at which time it is connected to the distribution network, so that it
delivers all the power.
The microgrid has excess energy, which is used to charge batteries.
Case III:
The scenario in which the microgrid requires 150 kW and the dis-
tribution grid delivers 200 kW, so that the remaining power is delivered
to the batteries.
Kusacana (2015) present the problem of optimization, and whose
objective is to find the optimum programming of the energy production
at a given time, that minimizes the fuel expenses of the diesel generator
during the time of operation. The control of the hybrid system can be
implemented using two different strategies, the “continuous” operation
control and the “ON/OFF” of the diesel generator; being its objective to
minimize the operation cost of the hybrid system while maintaining the
optimal flow of energy, considering the intermittent solar resource, the
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al. Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440

Table 1
Guidelines for the design, installation and maintenance of PV Systems. Source (Spertino and Corona, 2017), own elaboration.
Component/ Design of PV systems Installation of PV systems Maintenance of PV systems
Guidelines

PV Module All technologies are valid, but it is necessary to pay
attention to their efficiency and cost. In addition,
manufacturers' specifications do not always
coincide with laboratory and field experiments
Inverter The best configuration is one that does not have a
transformer associated with the inverter
The action of the MPPT must cause the voltage to
move to high values, and in this way reduce the
current values (and therefore the losses)
All commercial investors guarantee an acceptable
THD and power factor
Shading, Obstacles The tools for the evaluation of shadows are
and Parts fundamental. Some of these tools are: PVSyst,
Autocad, SketchUp, etc.
Inverter-PV Array Experience shows that the optimal configuration is
the one with the largest number of modules, in
order to allow more branches in parallel
In the design phase, it is advisable to propose an
optimum inclination of modules according to the
location, and the models should be calculated with
a maximum irradiance of 1100 W/m2 with
maximum periods of 15 min
Electric Cables On the DC side, it is necessary to have fuses and
circuit breakers
The AC cables must have double insulation and
oversized sections
To guarantee the ventilation (cooling) of the
photovoltaic modules installed on roofs, it is
necessary to guarantee a sufficient space
between them and those
The ideal cabin is one that maintains a constant
temperature (10–15 °C)
The existing elements must be valued, since they
can be obstacles and shadows for the system. Air
conditioning systems must also be taken into
account
The cables must avoid being exposed to the sun,
and the protection boxes must be watertight. It
must be taken into account that the components
need to dissipate heat in their normal operation
As a general rule, to be able to estimate the
photovoltaic production, the maintainers use the
real measurement coming from the Smart Meter.
This measure of production must coincide with
the irradiance existing at the site, so it is
convenient to have irradiance meters
The checking of the status and operation of circuit
breakers, fuses and other elements must be
carried out by the service personnel
The task of cleaning the photovoltaic modules is
critical, since the dirt is responsible for a high
degradation in the efficiency of the module
In the systems with follow-up (one or two axes),
the lubrication and supervision of the moving
parts is necessary
To avoid the increase in losses, the cables and the
inverters must have low temperature

SOC of the battery and the load demand. In this article, both control
strategies are modeled and simulated and applied to two test examples.
After the simulation, the results show that using the hybrid battery
system together with the photovoltaic system (in both strategies), a
significant cost of operation can be saved in comparison to the use of
the diesel generator.
3.2. Operation of hybrid systems
Distributed storage and renewable generation sources are two ele-
ments that are widely used in many applications. It is possible to find
two integrative models: a centralized model and a decentralized model.
Nowadays there is interest in verifying the benefits of the integration of
renewable energy sources and storage. But this interest is greater when
comparing the benefits of a centralized (utility) and decentralized
(consumers) model. Jian and Tong (2016) demonstrate the benefits of
the centralization of these hybrid systems, although they highlight the
ease of implementation and control through a decentralized archi-
tecture.
Beaudin et al. (2010) indicate the need to employ a particular
energy storage solution for each specific scenario with renewable en-
ergy sources. Each situation will need a concrete storage solution
adapted to the reality of the problem.
There are several energy storage technologies, the most widely used
electrochemical battery technology, which are limited to the initial
investment, short life, environmental damage and explosion hazards. In
addition, in isolated areas, it appears the difficulty of maintenance is-
sues. Storage by pumping systems is presented as a possible alternative
due to its lower cost and its low recovery periods. Ma et al. (2014) try to
optimize a photovoltaic system based on the technical performance and
cost of the life cycle. The elements that make up the system under study
are: photovoltaic generator, storage subsystem formed by two tanks at
different heights, pumps and turbine/generator, an end user and a
control station. The energy cycle is as follows: when there is surplus
energy generated by the photovoltaic system, the water is pumped into
the raised reservoir and is retained thereby storing the energy in its
potential form when there is energy demand and there is not enough
generation in the panels to cover this demand, the water flow from the
upper to the lower reservoir is allowed to release the stored potential
energy and to generate electrical energy as it passes through the

Fig. 7. Classification of operation of photovoltaic systems.

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L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
Table 2
Solar resource forecast results. Source (Fan and Xia, 2017), own elaboration.
Technique Regression coefficient MAPE (%) RMSE (%) Observations
ANN 0.999 0.02 0.11 ANN is the best model (effectiveness) and the model best detects nonlinears between the variables
SVM 0.9987 0.33 3.57 The generalization capability of the SVM model makes it more accurate than the Kalmam Filter model
KF 0.9943 3.41 1.19 Kalmar Filter model has been the worst model, but this model presents a good efficiency as well
turbine. To carry out the optimization, the following design parameters
have been modeled:
• Photovoltaic system design in terms of consumption and output
power.
• Modeling of the storage subsystem by pumping with special atten-
tion to the volume of the deposits.
• Modeling of load consumption.
Furthermore, factors such as system reliability, cost, revenue, in-
terest rate, among others, have been used for system optimization and
technical-economic study. The modeling system was implemented on
an island in southeastern Hong Kong with daily consumption of 250
kWh/day obtaining satisfactory results.
Ibrahim et al. (2017) work on the optimization of the renewable
system for isolated photovoltaic environments. The implemented
method involves an improved model of the photovoltaic matrix, which
consists of a new dynamic battery model with a precise objective
function, as well as a fast simulation algorithm.
In the rural world, the reliability and costs of photovoltaic solar
components are highly important. The most expensive element is,
without a doubt, the battery. The photovoltaic module, although more
reliable, has a greater impact on the cost of the initial investment.
Carrasco et al. (2014) focus on the field testing of batteries with pho-
tovoltaic modules. The authors use a lead-acid battery made in Mor-
occo, with a regulator-charger manufactured in Morocco, with a Pulse
Width Modulation (PWM) control including a temperature compensa-
tion algorithm. With regard to batteries, the main conclusions are:
• On average, the capacity falls to 60% of the initial capacity after
eighteen months of operation.
• The loads are low compared to the available storage capacity.
The reasons for this rapid degradation of battery capacity could be
the following:
• The poor manufacturing quality of the batteries.
• The behavior of degraded batteries (with capacities less than 0.8) is
difficult to predict.
• The threshold of the charge controller to protect the battery against
over-discharge allows a SOC close to 100%, which is completely
incorrect.
Arabkoohsar et al. (2016) present the use of compressed air energy
storage systems. This represents an alternative to classic storage sys-
tems. The study shows that substations in the vicinity of the city are a
suitable place to produce electricity using turbo-expanders instead of
conventional throttling valves.
Fig. 8. Main power quality problems of photovoltaic systems.
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
Hossain et al. (2017) present a hybrid system, which will try to
optimize renewable generation (wind and photovoltaic). For this, the
authors design a storage system in accordance with wind and photo-
voltaic production, and they will try to minimize the use of the avail-
able diesel generator.
Continuing with the hybrid systems, Shezan et al. (2017) design an
intelligent hybrid system, which is simulated and the results are op-
timal. The emissions avoided with a similar system are close to 30%.
Like (Hossain et al., 2017), the authors propose a system with the wind,
photovoltaic and diesel.
3.3. Power quality
Photovoltaic power plants must comply with the requirements of
the network to which they are connected, especially concerning power
quality issues. The factors that affect the disturbance in photovoltaic
energy are the size of the photovoltaic plant, connection voltage, short-
circuit power in the interconnection and the degree of penetration of
the system, as it appears in (Hernández et al., 2011). Photovoltaic
generation shares the characteristics of other distributed generation
units. Distributed generation means a change in the way distribution
networks are operated since introduces the possibility of bidirectional
power flows in networks designed for unidirectional flows. Besides,
there may be a significant impact on transmission losses, network re-
liability and voltage profiles depending on the penetration level, size
and location. Vita et al. (2015) studied this influence for different types
of distributed generation, including photovoltaic (Vita et al., 2015).
Two common problems that may limit the level of penetration of
distributed generation are its contribution to short circuit current (with
impact on circuit breakers, although not significant for photovoltaic
systems) and its influence on voltage variations (EPRI). Besides, it has
to be taken into account the impact on network power quality (Luszcz,
2015). Any generation unit, just for the fact of being connected to the
network, will have a certain impact on the network, depending on its
degree on the technology, the characteristics of the primary energy
source, the installed power, the nominal voltage of the network and its
short circuit power at the connection point. In the case of photovoltaic
power plants, the main power quality problems are as shown in Fig. 8.
Harmonics are a concern since harmonic currents increase power
losses, overheat the neutral conductor and transformers and may cause
malfunction of protective devices (IEEE Recommended Practice). The
magnitude and the order of the harmonics that photovoltaic units may
introduce into the network will largely depend on the power inverter
technology. Recent designs based on IGBTs with PWM technology
produce much less harmonic content than older inverters based on
thyristors (Vita et al., 2015). Sidrach-de-Cardona and Carretero (2005)
studied five different inverters during clear sky days and partially
cloudy ones. The results show that the harmonic distortion depends on
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
the output power of the inverter, being minimum at nominal power.
Langella et al. (2016) show similar conclusions (Langella et al., 2016)
studying also interharmonic emissions, showing large emissions for
operating conditions below 10% of the inverter rated power. Chicco
et al. (2009) found similar results (Chicco et al., 2009). Harmonic
distortion also depends on the number of power plants connected to the
power system and its location (Fazliana et al., 2014). Ortega et al.
(2013) present a methodology to measure and asses power quality is-
sues in photovoltaic systems based on IEC standards. A case study is
shown corresponding to a large power plant connected to a medium
voltage feeder. According to the study, with low power intervals, the
emission of harmonics is high.
Interharmonics are a growing concern. Their main cause is the non-
synchronous behavior of the power electronic connected electrical sub-
systems, that is, the DC side of the converter and the AC side of the
inverter (Testa and Langella, 2007). Langella et al. (2016) analyze a
photovoltaic inverter for its interharmonic emission, pointing out the
MPPT control as a possible cause for frequencies below 100 Hz. It is also
shown how, over 100 Hz, background harmonic distortion can have a
significant impact. Hariri and Faruque (2014) simulated different
generation units connected to a distribution network, obtaining that the
injected harmonics do not exceed THD limits since they are of high
order but they can have an impact on network communication devices.
Benhabib et al. (2007) simulated the photovoltaic system corre-
sponding to 96 houses in the Netherlands, considering different sce-
narios of connected non-linear loads obtaining that, in some cases,
current and voltage THDs exceed 5%. Chidurala et al. (2016) conducted
a similar study for an Australian network, analyzing the impact of in-
jected harmonics on a K-factor transformer and showing that current
and voltage THDs could lead to transformer overloading and heating for
high photovoltaic penetrations.
Depending on the penetration level, voltage rise can be one of the
main issues to analyze (Karimi et al., 2016). Thomson and Infield
(2007) presented a simulation of high penetration level on a typical UK
distributor concluding that no particular problems are found. Urbanetz
et al. (2012) performed a similar study in a Brazilian urban grid,
measuring on an existing 12 kWp plant installed and simulating a 4.2
MWp in the same area, observing a small voltage rise but that could be
too high for high levels of penetration. Irradiation changes caused by
clouds are reported to impact on voltage fluctuations. McGranaghan
et al. (2008) state that may be a problem with voltage stability with
photovoltaic penetrations over 20%. Yun Tiam and Kirschen (2007)
study the effect of large irradiation changes on voltage stability at a
transmission level, proposing a photovoltaic reactive power control
method for voltage regulation. Yan and Saha (2012) analyze voltage
dips caused by passing clouds, suggesting that this issue could be sig-
nificant, deserving more specific investigation. Conti et al. (2006) focus
on small-area networks of low voltage, showing via simulation voltage
stability issues in distribution networks. Several methods are proposed
in the bibliography to control voltage such as power curtailment
(Omran et al., 2011; Demirok et al., 2009; Ku et al., 2016; Mastromauro
et al., 2009) and reactive power based photovoltaic (Yeh et al., 2012;
Tan and Kirschen, 2007). Short-time fluctuations in solar irradiance are
also being considered in the bibliography (Aghatehrani and Golnas,
2012) since may create flicker problems (Kawasakia et al., 2006).
Harmonic resonance is being considered as an increasing problem
related with the interface between photovoltaic inverters and the grid.
This is not only a significant power quality issue but also can have an
Fig. 9. Maintenance of design of photovoltaic systems.
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
impact on protection devices and even damage sensitive equipment
(Chen and Sun, 2011). Fortes et al. (2016) present a simulation ob-
taining that with photovoltaics operating just at 20% rated power and
with low amplitudes of harmonic excitation, significant and harmful
effects were found when a parallel resonance exists, identifying a par-
allel resonance for the 19th harmonic and violating operational limits
under different standards. Yang et al. (2017) show that the resonance
peaks in photovoltaic inverters are caused by the LCL filter. They pro-
pose a method of suppressing said resonance, and also, decrease the
content of harmonics.
Solutions have been proposed to reduce the impact of photovoltaic
on the grid. Cooperative operation is proposed in (Romero-Cadaval
et al., 2009) using two single-phase traditional inverters and in
(Miñambres-Marcos et al., 2013) the quality of energy is controlled by a
multilevel investor, by means of a low-frequency strategy.
Voltage regulation can be performed mitigating power fluctuations
using Battery Energy Storage as proposed in (Mahmood et al., 2014);
(Gehrke et al., 2015) allowing bidirectional power control.
Most of the studies focus on the impact of photovoltaic on dis-
tribution networks, usually concerning small production units.
Nevertheless, there is also a growing concern related to large scale
plants. Bejmert and Sidhu (2012) simulated the operation of a 50 MW
power plant considering different penetration levels and operating
conditions and non-significant fault contribution of the plant are found
with no impact on the protection performance, although short-circuit
current levels are expected to increase.
4. Maintenance of photovoltaic systems
This section will present works related to the performance of pho-
tovoltaic systems, thermography and electroluminescence, dirt, risks in
operation and maintenance and failure modes which are present in
photovoltaic systems. Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems can be
approached as shown in Fig. 9.
4.1. Performance of photovoltaic systems
Bahaidarah et al. (2016) highlight the need for uniform cooling of
the solar panels and the authors present some conclusions of great in-
terest:
• The authors present as critical the non-uniform distribution of
temperature due to cell material, the geometry of the concentrate
and its optical properties, the design and manufacturing method;
and as the main effect the reduction of the electrical efficiency in-
dicating that 40% is lost due to a non-uniform distribution.
• A non-uniform flow distribution will cause an inhomogeneous
temperature distribution across the cell.
• The form factor and the open circuit voltage (both, parameters of
the solar cells) drop with increasing temperature.
Once the need for uniform cooling of the solar cells has been de-
termined, the following cooling methods are compared and analyzed:
• Heat pipe cooling: absorption of heat on high flow surfaces and
discharge into lower heat flow surfaces.
• Microchannels.
• Liquid immersion cooling: immersion of the cells in the liquid that
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al. Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440

absorbs the heat.
• Improved heat exchangers.
• Heat sinks: with circulating coolant when reaching a certain tem-
perature in the solar panel.
• Impingement jet cooling.
• Hybrid microchannels and impingement jet cooling.
• Phase change material systems: use of latent heat storage devices
that remain constant during the phase change process.
Cooling methods can be divided into two groups: passive and active.
Within the passive, there can be found those of cooling with a heat pipe
that can achieve cell temperatures in the range of 32–46 °C, being an
efficient system with the presence of fins and of low cost. Other tech-
niques within this group are heat sinks and heat separators which
achieve a cell temperature of 37 °C, presenting the drawback of the
heatsink area which is a direct function of the heat concentration.
Finally, we find the cooling by phase change materials that are under
study and has not been used for concentrated systems although it is a
promising technique due to the uniform cooling it provides.
On the other hand, if we look at the active techniques, we find the
improved designs of heat exchange that offer a uniform distribution of
optimized temperature being the one of a serpentine type that pre-
sented the smaller variation. This group also includes the immersion in
a dielectric liquid that cools the panels in the range of 20–45 °C for
concentrated systems and the micro-channels, which can get low tem-
peratures and even distribution of the same although they have high
losses of load, which means a high energy cost.
Finally, impact cooling is a promising alternative because of its high
extraction capacity and low thermal resistance.
Table 3 shows the summary of uniform cooling techniques reviewed
in (Bahaidarah et al., 2016).
Sahay et al. (2015) present a novel cooling system, called “central
panel cooling system coupled to the ground” in which heat dissipation
is achieved by passing a stream of cold air directed towards the surface
of the panels. The air circulation is generated through a fan, which is
operated by the electricity provided by an independent solar panel, and
the air stream is cooled as it passes through a heat exchanger coupled to
the floor. This system takes advantage of the stable ground temperature
to efficiently exchange. The system is novel for three reasons:
• Inclusion of the term cooling of solar panels.
• Use of heat exchangers coupled to ground.
• Performance tests have been performed with real irradiance.
Spertino et al. (2015) proposes a sequence of steps to determine the
origin of the losses, and these are the following: field inspection in situ;
the identification of irradiation sensors as close as possible to the
photovoltaic system; the evaluation of energy production; to test the
arrays of photovoltaic modules at the site and test photovoltaic strings
or individual modules with reduced performance (mismatch of current-
voltage curves); to use the thermographic camera and electro-
luminescence in each of the modules to find the errors or faults of the
photovoltaic modules; and to monitor the DC racks of each inverter,
and observe the MPPT.
4.2. Thermography and electroluminescence
The failures in the photovoltaic modules are responsible for the
reduction of their efficiency, as well as their durability and reliability.
Faults appear in: manufacturing, transportation, installation and op-
eration.
The performance diagnosis was traditionally carried out by means
of electrical tests to each module or string, with the limited ability to
identify abnormal underperformance situations, but without the capa-
city to recognize the exact reason neither the location of the faulty
module or cell.
Technological advances allow the existence of non-destructive di-
agnoses and even without contacts. These diagnoses are more effective
and reduce time and costs. The fastest and least expensive technique is
thermographic inspection. This technique has the great advantage that
it is applied with the photovoltaic plant in operation.
Electroluminescence (EL) imaging is a non-invasive technique devel-
oped to detect the radiative recombination of charge carriers excited
under forwarding bias in which the resultant light intensity is propor-
tional to the voltage.
Tsanakas et al. (2016) revise the available literature on infrared (IR)
thermographic diagnosis in crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules and
its defects. These authors group the failures in photovoltaic modules
into three groups, which are detailed below:
• The optical degradation, that involves delamination, bubbles, en-
capsulates discoloration and glass breakage.
• The electrical mismatched and degradation, comprising cell frac-
tures, snail trails, broken interconnection ribbons, poor soldering

Table 3
Evaluated risks.
Source of Danger Danger Effect of Danger

Technological Hazards
Electricity Electrocution, short circuit Photovoltaic System - Workers
Fire Damage of photovoltaic system, accidents, burns Photovoltaic System – Workers – Emergency Equipment
Contact with sharp surfaces Cuts, bruises Workers
Contact with hot surfaces Burns Workers
Fall from high altitude Death Workers
Batteries (oxides) Burns, respiratory problems, environmental damage Workers – Environment
Non-ionizing radiation Danger to health Workers
Modules Reflection Aviation

Natural Hazards
Flash of lightning Damage to the photovoltaic system, death Photovoltaic System – Workers
Strong winds Damage to the photovoltaic system, death Photovoltaic System – Workers
Dust Damage to the photovoltaic system, low energy productivity Photovoltaic System
Hot Health Workers
Hail Damage to the photovoltaic system Photovoltaic System – Workers
Humidity Damage to the photovoltaic system Photovoltaic System
Rodents Damage to the photovoltaic system Photovoltaic System
Tremors Damage to the photovoltaic system Photovoltaic System
Flora Allergies, lower production Photovoltaic System – Workers

Danger of Human Origin

Vandalism, sabotage, robbery Damage to the photovoltaic system Photovoltaic System

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L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
Fig. 10. Recreation maintenance of photovoltaic plants with UAS. Components:
(1) UAS (Drone), (2) and (3) process conditioning elements, (4) Computer and
communication elements.
shunts and short-circuited cells and shading.
• The non-classified faults, as Potential Induced Degradation (PID),
defective/short-circuited bypass diode or open-circuited submodule.
The researchers conclude that by thermal imaging and I-V curves it
is possible to reliably identify and classify at least one failure mode.
The idea of an optimized IR inspection method by means of a novel
technique that uses Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) which deliver
thermographic and other sensors in order to monitor the photovoltaic
sites from the sky started to appear in the begging of the second decade
of the twenty-first century. Denio (2012) propose the use of aerial
thermography to reach photovoltaic arrays in the top of a roof or too
large time-consuming areas. Fig. 10 shows a typical application sce-
nario.
Buerhop et al. (2012) investigate 60 different photovoltaic plants of
up to 1MWp with aerial thermography, and they employ a remote-
controlled helicopter. It is possible to detect some defects, according to
the authors, namely: disconnected strings, substrings, shunted cells,
faulty soldering and cell fracture.
Aghaei et al. (2014), Aghaei et al. (2014), Bellezza Quater et al.
(2014) and Grimaccia et al. (2015) conduct research to prove the fea-
sibility of UAS inspections of photovoltaic plants. The main advantages
of this method are: large area coverage, high flexibility, fast detection,
cost-effectiveness, time-saving, precise results and multiple sensors data
collection at the same time.
Aghaei et al. (2015) propose an innovative system of inspection and
diagnosis, with the second stage of data processing and a proposal of
corrective actions. Aghaei et al. (2016) propose a mosaic of images
based on digital images, by means of which they improve the descrip-
tion of the plant, from a thermographic perspective. The tool demon-
strates the viability of defect detection systems using infrared images.
Dotenco et al. (2016) propose an automatic detection of defects in
photovoltaic modules based on infrared images. Once the defective
modules have been detected (using infrared images), a series of statis-
tical tests are used to validate the type of fault.
The same research group cited above, Aghaei et al. (2016) and
Grimaccia et al. (2017), later on focused their study on an specific re-
search to determine the correlation between altitude and detection of
defects, concluding that the identification of the defect can be classified
attending to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight altitude.
Grimaccia et al. (2017) have also studied the most observed defect
during aerial IR inspections and their frequency. The results indicate
that the failure rates in photovoltaic modules are mainly due to the
following defects, in order from the most frequent to the less:
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
discoloration/browning, snail trails, hot spots, by-pass/disconnect,
dirty, shading, crack in cells and oxidation/corrosion.
The conclusions of some works indicate that there is a strong cor-
relation between the defective modules and the power of the associated
string. For example, Dalsass et al. (2016) study the correlation between
the radiometric infrared results obtained by means of aerial thermo-
graphy and the monitoring data from inverters.
In order to automate processes in large photovoltaic plants,
Tsanakas et al. (2017) and Tsanakas et al. (2015) propose two different
techniques for the mapping of advanced inspection of photovoltaic
plants: the aerial triangulation that uses image data obtained with a
UAV to generate orthophoto mosaics; and terrestrial georeferencing
that associates terrestrial images taken in different positions of the
photovoltaic plant with geographic data.
Improvements in EL imaging equipment, involving InGaAs uncooled
detectors and InSb cooled ones, encompass the first steps for reliable
outdoor measurements and fault diagnosis in photovoltaic sites, even
under real-sun conditions. Stoicescu et al. (2014) introduce the Day
Light Luminescence System Testing (DaySy) for performing EL images
during the bright daylight. It combines photoluminescence with elec-
troluminescence to exactly identify PID and series resistance losses
along with cell areas which are completely inactive. The ratios obtained
in the experiments show that it is possible to inspect up to 1.2 MWp
within 24 h. To perform EL any other light source apart from the solar
cell has to be filtered away and DaySy method provides the filtering of
luminescence radiation from the background light by up to 5 orders of
magnitude, by means of digital filtering techniques developed at the
Institute for Photovoltaics of the University of Stuttgart.
Dolara et al. (2016) work with electroluminescence to detect faults.
They show that the production of 4 modules with failure (snail trails)
supposes between 68% and 88% of the total production of a module
without failure.
4.3. Dirt
A consequence of the accumulation of dirt and dust is the dispersion
of solar radiation on the photovoltaic module. The above has a direct
consequence, the loss of efficiency of the photovoltaic module.
Saidan et al. (2016) investigate the impact of dust accumulation on
photovoltaic modules in Baghdad (Iraq). The authors show some con-
clusive data on the rate of degradation, in periods of one day, one week
and one month, this rate is 6.24%, 11.8% and 18.74% respectively.
The accumulation of dust in the photovoltaic panels has a negative
impact, producing a fall in the energy efficiency of the production, and
therefore the decrement in energy efficiency. When calculating the
power of any photovoltaic power plant, the dirt and dust accumulation
factor must be taken into account, since if it is ignored the productions
come out with quite a difference between the real and the estimated.
The experimental results show that the dust reduces the maximum
current from 6.9% to 16.4%, depending on the period of exposure of the
photovoltaic panels in powder (day and month). In conclusion, it is
recommended to perform cleaning tasks to minimize the impact on
energy production and thus maintain the same power without varia-
tions throughout the entire life of the solar panels.
Fathi et al. (2017) study the serious effect of generation loss (eco-
nomic loss) with the increase in the dirt (dust) present in the panel.
The previous study has been carried out in two power stations
(1 MW–Adrar and 5 MW – Ouargla) using the “Helioscope” technique.
The technologies used in the panels are thin cells CdTe and mono-
crystalline silicon. Using the databases of environmental dust loads,
dust levels are around 10–15%. The calculations made estimated that
the cleaning tasks of the modules were profitable with a threshold of
dust around 7%. It was also shown that the level of efficiency varies
according to the dirt depending on the technologies chosen in the
photovoltaic modules.
In the use of photovoltaic systems in desert regions, it is important
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
to know the effect of the soiling, which will have associated a cost of
operation and maintenance. In the Sahara regions, the average amount
of dirt is around 10–15%, so cleaning is essential to have a higher
performance in photovoltaic modules, as shown (Fathi et al., 2017).
The study indicates 81% of performance when the soil is 0%, decreasing
to 69% of performance when the values are around 15% of the dirt. It
has been shown that the cleaning of the photovoltaic plants is 6.5%,
since it is a thin film of dust that does not lower the optimum of per-
formance too much, and does not involve a great effort when cleaning.
In the case of thin film technology panels, the investment of cleaning
and maintenance is recovered beforehand due to better yields and
therefore higher revenues compared to monocrystalline silicon tech-
nology.
The electrical and thermal behavior in photovoltaic panels is stu-
died by Abderrezek and Fathi (2017). The authors show that the
changes in performance are due to: variation in physical parameters
(such as cell size and grain size), glazing temperature and level of light
transmission.
In order to improve the performance of the dusty regions module,
they propose future work to study the behavior of photovoltaic module
with coating materials (nano-coated) on the front of the photovoltaic
module as an automatic cleaning material. The nano-coated material
helps to reduce the accumulated dust, thus minimizing water con-
sumption in cleaning and thermal losses within the module.
Tanesab et al. (2015) present the contribution of dust in the de-
gradation of long-term performance in several modules installed eigh-
teen years ago, without performing any cleaning procedures. According
to these authors, it is interesting to note that the main losses in the
performances of the modules are caused by factors not related to the
dust, such as corrosion, discoloration and delamination, representing
71–84% compared to 16–29% of the dust.
In addition, a combination of a spectrophotometer, scanning elec-
tron microscope, electron scattering spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction
was also used to examine the properties of the dust in the panels. The
dust particles deposited on the surface of the photovoltaic modules in
the University of Murdoch were dominated by fine particles constructed
with large quantities of quartz (SiO2), followed by calcium oxide (CaO)
and somewhat less of mineral feldspar (KAlSi3O8), which are the main
factors in the transmittance losses that affect the performance of the
photovoltaic module.
4.4. Risks in operation and maintenance
Kamenopoulos and Tsoutsos (2015) intend to identify and to eval-
uate the risks that may arise during the operation and maintenance of
photovoltaic systems. For the development of the study, the technique
used was operational risk management, which consists on treating the
risk associated with any type of operation and maintenance, and whose
methodology of action includes the following steps:
• Identify sources of danger.
• Assess hazards.
• Make risk decisions.
• Implement controls.
• Monitor and control change.
The first step has been to determine the processes and techniques to
be used to assess the weight given to each risk by creating a work
matrix where the probability of success of risk is related to the severity
of the risk by assigning a value of risk level to every possible event. The
levels of risk used are: (1) Negligible, (2) Minor, (3) Moderate, (4)
Serious and (5) Critical.
The severity range of the hazard is evaluated according to four
different degrees: (I) Catastrophic (it can cause death or loss of in-
stallation), (II) Critical (it can cause serious injury, occupational dis-
eases or serious damage to the installation), (III) Marginal (it can cause
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Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
minor injuries to both workers and facility) and (IV) Negligible (it does
not affect personal safety marked safety).
Next, there are three categories of risk identification: hazard source
(natural, human or technological hazards), the effect of hazard (on
workers, hazards to third parties or hazards to solar panels) and, finally,
the process of operations (operation or maintenance of facilities).
Once identified the possible risks, a group of experts in the opera-
tion and maintenance of photovoltaic systems is asked to evaluate the
probability that the event will happen and the severity (following the
criteria initially marked). In addition, a weight is assigned to each risk
with a value of 0–1 in order to weight the results. The evaluated risks
are shown in Table 3.
No critical risk has been registered, although the risks related to
electric current and fire-fighting can be considered serious, where the
former have obtained the highest score, namely those related to contact
with electric current during the maintenance of the solar panels. With
regard to fire hazards, it refers to the risks that can be run in the fire
extinguishing operations that have arisen in the solar panels.
With a moderate risk, we find the hazards related to natural causes
such as lightning, and more specifically the risks associated with
maintenance operations during storms. Lower-level hazards are related
to the risks posed by human and potential hazards to aviation.
4.5. Failure modes in photovoltaic plants
Photovoltaic power plants are composed of numerous components.
However, it is possible to group these components into large groups.
The components of these plants are part of the photovoltaic generator,
inverter, Medium Voltage (MV) transformer station, metering elements,
security system, communication system, monitoring system, grid and
civil works.
With respect to the photovoltaic generator, Köntges et al. (2013)
define the following failures found in PV modules. In the first group, it
is described the common failures to all photovoltaic modules divided in
the following failure modes: delamination, back sheet adhesion loss,
junction box failure and frame breakage. The second group includes the
following failures in silicon wafer-based photovoltaic modules: EVA
discoloration, cell cracks, snail tracks, burn marks, potential induced
degradation (PID), disconnected cell and string interconnect ribbons,
defect bypass diode. The thin film failures described in the third group
are: micro arcs at glued connectors and shunt hoy sots. And finally, the
fourth group describes the following failures found in CdTe thin-film
modules: front glass breakage and back contact degradation.
Manganiello et al. (2015) presented different aging mechanisms that
take place in photovoltaic modules and their cause-effect links as dis-
coloration, delamination, bubbles, AR coating degradation, corrosion,
crack in the cells, ribbon and solder bonds degradation and broken
interconnect, dust and soiling, PID, junction box and bypass diodes
effects, localized heating phenomena and detachment of the frame.
Cagnano and De Tuglie (2016) propose a decentralized controller to
coordinate the reactive power injections of photovoltaic generators in
order to contribute to the voltage regulation in distribution networks,
where the control actions are evaluated in the real-time by adopting an
optimization methodology involving the sensitivity applied to the
Lyapunov function. Ramón-Marín et al. (2014) present a methodology
for estimating photovoltaic active power generation values for planning
purposes in MV and Low Voltage (LV) power systems, from historic
generation data, based on the development of correlation models.
Others authors as Jung et al. (2015) propose a Configurable, Hier-
archical, Model-based, Scheduling Control (CHMSC) of automated uti-
lity control devices and photovoltaic generators, and which highlights
the importance of the photovoltaic generator. Torrent-Fontbona and
López (2016) review the problem and provides a new pathway for
supporting grid planning with an integrated view; hence, a new plan-
ning problem is formulated to jointly determine how many new Dis-
tributed Generators (DGs) are needed, of which type (photovoltaics,
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
wind, etc.), their location and size, while attempting to maximize the
profit of the generators, minimize the system losses and improve the
voltage profile. With respect to the importance of the characteristic
parameters of photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic generators, Lo
Brano et al. (2012) present the experimental validation of a new five-
parameter model capable of analytically describe the I–V characteristic
of a silicon photovoltaic module for each generic condition of operative
temperature and solar irradiance. In the photovoltaic generator, the
protections and their diagnosis are important, Chao and Chen (2017)
develop a new fault diagnosis meter for application in photovoltaic
generation systems. Wang et al. (2016) present a fault diagnosis tech-
nique for photovoltaic panels, where the proposed technique uses the
sampled data to estimate the intrinsic parameters of the panel si-
multaneously. Zhao et al. (2013) focus online–line faults in photo-
voltaic arrays that may be caused by short-circuit faults or double
ground faults, the work examines the challenges to Overcurrent Pro-
tection Devices (OCPD) in a photovoltaic array brought by unique
faults: one is a fault that occurs under low-irradiance conditions, and
the other is a fault that occurs at night and evolves during “night-to-
day” transition. Gómez et al. (2013) conclude that the particular
characteristics of the photovoltaic cell require the use of a fuse specially
designed for this protection, class gPV.
With respect to the photovoltaic inverter, already in 2006 Casadei
et al. (2006) presented a MPPT algorithm based on the application of
the “ripple correlation control” for single-stage converters that connects
the photovoltaic installation to a single-phase grid. The device gen-
erates a sinusoidal wave with a power factor equal to unity, but using a
high efficiency and reliability converter.
Jana et al. (2017) presents an extensive review of single-phase in-
verters; the work gathers the standards and technical specifications, the
historical evolution of the technologies and the types of existing de-
vices. With respect to three-phase inverters, Gerrero et al. (2016) pre-
sent the design of a three-phase grid-tied photovoltaic cascade H-bridge
inverter for distributed power conversion, compensating the power
imbalance with the injection of a proper zero-sequence voltage, while
the intra-phase balance is ensured by means of a hybrid modulation
method which is able to guarantee the handling of unequal DC sources,
stable circuit operation, and maximization of PV power production. A
new monophasic inverter with multiple levels is proposed by
Prabaharan and Palanisamy (2016); the device contains a minimum
number of switches and its application is photovoltaic, for which it uses
an MPPT and perturbation procedure to search for maximum power.
Continuing with this theme, de Brito et al. (2015) present a three-phase
tri-state buck-boost integrated inverter suitable for stand-alone and/or
grid-connected photovoltaic energy applications; the input and output
can be independently controlled, and this is a great advantage. Ando
et al. (2017) present a new DC-AC converter with an efficiency of 3%
superior to any device on the market; the converter integrates a Max-
imum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and is designed for SiC devices.
Real-Calvo et al. (2016) present a prototype inverter for photovoltaic
systems, which has a subsystem for the diagnosis of energy quality and
protection in operation. Erginer and Sarul (2014) present a system to
reduce the leakage current and the harmonic distortion rate of a new
three-phase inverter.
Related to MV transformer station, Awadallah et al. (2016) present
the results of the relationship between the effect of the photovoltaic
module and the distribution transformer. The authors simulate the ex-
periment and validate it in a real environment. Essakiappan et al.
(2015) present a multilevel topology with medium-frequency AC link
for MV grid integration of utility photovoltaic plants; each zone em-
ploys a medium-frequency transformer with three secondaries, which
interface with the three phases of the medium voltage grid.
With respect to metering, Dufo-López and Bernal-Agustín (2015)
propose a new methodology of mathematical reformulation to be ap-
plied to the different modalities of net metering and net billing. Al-
though they are based on the royal decree applied in Spain, their
437
Solar Energy 188 (2019) 426–440
methodology can be used in other countries. The authors show the
compensation of electric power consumption through net metering and
net billing strategies. Shaker et al. (2016) present an estimation method
for photovoltaic production, this method is based on real production
data (public data) and real-time data from small sites; in this way, the
method is able to estimate in aggregate form another location. In an-
other order of magnitude, based on an analysis of net energy metering,
DeBenedictis et al. (2010) present statistically adjusted engineering
modeling of the metered output of 327 roof-top PV installations in
California for the 12-month period of January-December 2008, to ob-
tain an accurate measurement of photovoltaic energy.
Related to the security system, already in 1955 Hatziargyriou et al.
(1955) presented the application of the decision tree methodology to
the dynamic security assessment of a medium size autonomous power
system with a large penetration from renewable energy sources, spe-
cifically photovoltaic system. As shown by Gong et al. (2017), the in-
termittency and variability of permeated distributed generators could
cause much critical security and economy risks to distribution systems;
authors present four risk indices: EENS (expected energy not supplied),
PLC (probability of load curtailment), EFLC (expected frequency of load
curtailment), and SI (severity index), were established to reflect the
system risk level of the distribution system.
With respect to the communications system, Batista et al. (2013)
provide a new comprehensive field test using open source tools with
ZigBee technologies for monitoring photovoltaic and wind energy sys-
tems, and also for Smart Buildings. Mahjoubi et al. (2011) presents the
design and development of a microcontroller-based wireless data ac-
quisition system and a study of the feasibility of different existing
methodologies linked to field data acquisition from remote photovoltaic
water pumping systems.
The last component group is the supervisory control and data ac-
quisition (SCADA) and the monitoring system. The SCADA system in-
tegrates the existing renewable energy sources (RES) system with di-
gital information processing and advanced telemetry systems, and
sometimes is designated renewable energy management systems (EMS).
As indicated in Sayed and Gabbar (2017), an efficient monitoring
system is important to monitor the energy produced by a photovoltaic
system in real time. Data loggers supply data into the SCADA database,
which can store it for use later. A SCADA system monitors PV farm
performance by comparing it with the PV plant design datasheet, al-
though sometimes this method is not very successful. Related to mon-
itoring system, Forero et al. (2006) introduce a system developed for
monitoring photovoltaic solar plants using a novel procedure based on
virtual instrumentation, where the system is able to store and display
both the collected data of the environmental variables and the photo-
voltaic plant electrical output parameters, including the plant I–V
curve. Koutroulis and Kalaitzakis (2003) present a set of sensors for
measuring both meteorological (e.g. temperature, humidity etc.) and
electrical parameters (photovoltaics voltage and current etc.) to collect
data. Woyte et al. (2003) present the measurement to characterize the
shadows in a photovoltaic system.
5. Conclusions
A review of the photovoltaic systems design, operation and main-
tenance has been presented. It has been analyzed how at present, the
greatest advances in photovoltaic systems are focused on improved
designs of photovoltaic systems, as well as optimal operation and
maintenance, being these the key points of PV systems research.
Regarding the PV system design, it has been analyzed the critical
components and the design of systems. In the articles studied on con-
verters, it has been concluded that new models of converters are
needed. These converters should be more efficient in their energy
conversion. In addition to greater efficiency, modularity and simplicity
are desired characteristics.
Within the European PERSIL Project, basic guidelines for the design,
L. Hernández-Callejo, et al.
installation and maintenance of photovoltaic solar panels are obtained
from the data acquired from the operation of 13 photovoltaic installa-
tions with different characteristics. Additionally, it has been presented a
design tool created for rural photovoltaic electrification in Morocco is
proposed, comprising a set of variables whose optimization criterion is
the minimum cost of operation and maintenance activity in decen-
tralized plants.
It has been seen how the use of accumulation systems to replace
batteries which are widely used systems but with high costs and short
lifetimes is an effective method of having energy continuously. The
methods found have been related to the size optimization, on the
conventional compressed air and on the use of pumping systems. It has
been proved that it is very important to maintain high-performance
values to obtain the best production values and thus achieve, on the one
hand, the greater efficiency in the solar panels and on the other, the
optimization of costs. With regard to operation and maintenance, part
of the articles is based on identifying, diagnosing, analyzing and clas-
sifying faults that occur normally, to minimize control and maintenance
operations. For this purpose, different types of sensors can be used,
unmanned equipment with thermographic cameras (drones), training
algorithms used in artificial neural networks, hierarchical control
strategy of two levels with fuzzy logic and analysis and control in the
environment based on MATLAB/Simulink.
Regarding the maintenance of PV systems, it has been studied their
performance, thermography and electroluminescence, dirt, risks and
failure modes. It has been detected a few basic items can be taken into
account in order to determine the source that produces losses and thus
minimize the bad process of energy production, field inspection in situ,
identification of irradiation sensors, evaluation of energy production,
testing of photovoltaic modules, test photovoltaic strings, use thermo-
graphic cameras and electroluminescence cameras, monitor the DC
strings of each inverter and observe the MPPT, and thus find errors and
failures to be able to repair and avoid losses and improve performance
of the photovoltaic systems.
A local study has been carried out to determine the optimum period
of cleaning of the photovoltaic panels and it has been studied the loss of
power and current due to dirt by dust in the exposure periods of a day, a
week and a month, being the average degradation rate of the effi-
ciencies of the modules exposed to dust are: 6.24%, 11.8% and 18.74%,
respectively. Monthly maintenance of the installed panels is re-
commended. To avoid these accumulations of dust it is advisable to use
nano-coated material to reduce the consumption of water in the
cleaning and thermal losses inside the module.
All the articles presented try to improve the performance and to
decrease the costs of operation and maintenance. This issue can be
approached by influencing the different elements of which a photo-
voltaic system consists. The most common are the converters, the
control of the quality of the generated energy, the problem of the loss of
performance of the modules as a result of the meteorological factors
(dirt and shading), creating hot spots and snail trail.
Acknowledgments
Our thanks to the following Master students: Alejandro Botija,
Alberto Ciriano, Alicia Gómez, Félix Gonzalo, Paula Peña and Jon
Salazar.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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