Sun and Heat – Too Much of a Good Thing It’s well understood
that heat affects all PV modules – they are tested and rated at
25 degrees Celsius and every degree above that causes power
output to drop by up to .5% per degree. The temperature of the
module is directly affecting voltage and the two critical things
to consider are the highest voltage at the lowest local
temperature and the lowest voltage at the highest possible local
temperature. At the lowest temperature, string voltage cannot
exceed the maximum input voltage of the inverter (usually
600Vdc) and at the highest temperature, string voltage needs to
be above the minimum startup voltage of the inverter’s MPPT
algorithm (usually around 200Vdc). There is plenty of
information on this subject, including another CivicSolar tech
article: http://www.civicsolar.com/resource/how-heat-affects-
solar-panel-efficiency So How does Heat Affect Inverters? What
is not as well understood is that heat also affects solar
inverters. The reasons are not the same – altho