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Testing and Evaluation: Balance of Systems

Numerous DOE-funded testing and evaluation capabilities are available for public use on a no-fee basis, including capabilities at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and the Southeast and Southwest Regional Experiment Stations (SERES and SWRES). The following table lists capabilities related to balance of systems and provides links for obtaining more information. To inquire about capabilities at DOE-funded facilities, see the contacts page.

Descriptor Description of Capability
(including Web links)		 Specific tests/measurements/characterizations
Sandia Distributed Energy Technologies Lab Comprehensive characterization and analysis of power conversion and control equipment for grid-interactive, stand-alone, and hybrid systems with options to use either PV or simulated dc and ac energy sources (60-kW PV, generators, 800 kWh battery storage).
ww.sandia.gov/pv		 Inverter characterizations: Efficiency vs. loads (resistive, inductive, capacitive, non-linear, and tuned).
Peak power rating per Sandia/CEC protocol.
Power quality (total harmonic distortion) per IEEE 519.
Thermal (IR) imaging, RF emissions and susceptibility per FCC part 15B.
Surge susceptibility per ANSI C62.41.
Utility compatibility (anti-islanding, surges, sags) per UL1741 and IEEE 1547.
Lightning and switching transient simulation.
Utility-specified voltage waveform interfaces.
Thermal chamber for extreme temperatures.
Long-term operating (aging) with failure diagnostics.
Sandia Battery Test and Analysis Lab Performance and failure analysis of batteries used in off-grid PV systems.
www.sandia.gov/pv		 Characterization of battery capacity vs. voltage, specific gravity, hydrogen generation, charging characteristics, discharge characteristics as function of discharge rate.
Charge controller testing. System tests with programmable array simulator.
SERES Long-term Inverter Testing Testing of the long-term performance and reliability of inverters.
www.fsec.ucf.edu/pvt/Projects/inverter/index.htm		 Measurement: Similar DAS to monitor long-term performance of systems and inverters at FSEC.
Relative comparisons of inverter technologies for same test conditions.
SWRES Long-Term Hot-Dry Inverter Testing Exposure testing and monitoring of long-term inverter performance.
www.nmsu.edu/~tdi/Photovoltaics/PV-Energy.html		 Fully instrumented long-term inverter testing (cycling, high-temperature operation, configurable dc inputs) to assess reliability and failure mechanisms.
SERES Battery Testing Test the performance characteristics of batteries for PV systems.
www.fsec.ucf.edu/pvt/Projects/seres		 Power supplies and resistors used to cycle batteries, simulate array.