IEA PVPS Task 2 Performance Database Example

Two successful PV promotion programmes for schools have been carried out in Germany. "Sun at School" sponsored by the utility Bayernwerk (now E.ON Energie) and "SONNEonline" sponsored by utility Preussen Elektra (now E.ON Energie).

Within the project Sun at School it was possible to combine innovative technology with an innovative idea and to take an important step towards spreading PV technology among students and teachers. Between 1994 and 1997, 544 schools in Bavaria received a highly subsidised PV construction kit for a grid-connected PV system with an electrical output of about 1 kW. Teachers and students, together with support from regional and local power supply utilities, were responsible for assembling the PV system. So they received a profound idea about the practical side of this new technique. The monitoring and evaluation work has been carried out by the Solar Lab Munich University of Applied Sciences on behalf of the Solarenergieförderverein Bayern (SeV= Bavarian Association for the Promotion of Solar Energy) in conjunction with E.ON Energie. The yearly produced report on operational results has been sent to all the schools. It is also available for download on Internet at: www.sev-bayern.de.

Within the project SONNEonline, about 400 schools in the region of Northern Germany were provided with grid-connected PV systems of about 1 kW installed power in 1996. SONNEonline was based on a profound educational concept, which aims to introduce PV technology to a target group of students and teachers, which is expected to multiply in the years to come. In addition to the PV installations, the schools received a Personal Computer and Internet access, allowing a detailed exchange of information on their systems results and on general experiences with PV. Furthermore, twelve PV installations were equipped with analytical monitoring systems and seven of them are still monitored by Fraunhofer Institut für Solare Energiesysteme allowing cross-comparison between the systems in terms of operational performances.

During 2002, the two promotion programmes merged and thus SeV, supported by E.ON Bayern, is responsible for monitoring and evaluation work of both programmes, which are now called Sun at School. It is planned to continue monitoring and evaluation of all 7 PV systems up to 2006.

More than 900 schools spreading from the North to the South of Germany received and installed the 1 kW PV systems. The PV systems show good performances, their annual energy yields are in a wide range from below 500 kWh/kW to above 1000 kWh/kW. Most of the trouble is coming from the inverters. Structural measures, such as building reorganisation, often have an influence on the systems availability. For the analytical monitored systems, the Performance Ratios are higher than 70%. The seven PV systems under investigations from 1998 up to now show very high annual PR of 72% to 77% with nearly constant values over the past five years. For these systems, real time daily and monthly operational results are provided at: www.sev-bayern.de.

modified on 02/14/05