Comparison of Amorphous and Single Crystal Silicon Based Residential Grid Connected PV Systems: Case of Thailand

Grid connected photovoltaic systems are an important electrification option especially in urban areas. Thailand has started the second phase of the residential grid connected PV system after five years completion of the first phase program. This paper compares the performance of amorphous silicon and single crystalline based household grid connected PV systems installed at Bangkok during the first phase program. Data collected over a year has been used to estimate the yields (reference yield, array yield and final yield), inverter efficiency, system efficiency, and performance ratio (PR). The variations of these parameters over the months indicate that the yields are high during June and July. The annual final yield and the average PR were found to be 1166 kWh/kWp and 0.73 respectively in case of amorphous system. The annual final yield and the average PR were found to be 960 kWh/kWp and 0.58 respectively in case of single crystalline system. The PR is always found to be higher in amorphous system than the single crystalline system. The result of the study indicates that the system installed in Bangkok performed satisfactory.