Could TL inverters with higher efficiency outweigh the negative of them having a higher start-up voltage than a standard one?
Comments
Startup voltage is really not that much of a problem. PV modules reach about 90% of Voc with 20% irradiation. It's the MPPT tracking window and the low voltage shutdown that are more important. In TL inverters the higher the output voltage the more important it is to have a higher input voltage because you don't have the transformer to easily boost the voltage. Voltage boosting in TL inverters is not as efficient so designers want to avoid having to do it. All this means is that you have more restrictions in string size and that means you have restrictions in what high and low temperatures you can design to. Areas that have large temperature swings will be challenging since you may not be able to have strings long enough to stay in the MPPT window on hot days but short enough to not go over voltage on cold days.
Comments
In TL inverters the higher the output voltage the more important it is to have a higher input voltage because you don't have the transformer to easily boost the voltage. Voltage boosting in TL inverters is not as efficient so designers want to avoid having to do it.
All this means is that you have more restrictions in string size and that means you have restrictions in what high and low temperatures you can design to. Areas that have large temperature swings will be challenging since you may not be able to have strings long enough to stay in the MPPT window on hot days but short enough to not go over voltage on cold days.