Modeling Microinverters and DC Power Optimizers in PVWatts

Module-level distributed power electronics including microinverters and DC power optimizers are increasingly popular in residential and commercial PV systems. Consumers are realizing their potential to increase design flexibility, monitor system performance, and improve energy capture. It is becoming increasingly important to accurately model PV systems employing these devices. This documentsummarizes existing published documents to provide uniform, impartial recommendations for how the performance of distributed power electronics can be reflected in NREL's PVWatts calculator (http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/).