Original Article

Standardized assessment of PV array simulators

¹ Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), School of Engineering and Computer Science (TI), Institute for Energy and Mobility Research (IEM), Laboratory for Photovoltaic Systems (PV-Lab), Jlcoweg 1, 3400 Burgdorf, Switzerland
² Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Center for Energy, Power and Renewable Gas Systems, Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria
³ Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110 Freiburg, Germany

^* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 18 July 2025
Accepted: 3 December 2025
Published online: 25 February 2026

Abstract

PV array simulators are devices for PV and PV battery inverter testing. To ensure that these devices operate correctly and can realistically simulate PV modules and PV arrays, a test procedure for the assessment of PV array simulators has been developed and is presented in this paper. This procedure helps testing laboratories to evaluate PV array simulators and leads to more uniform test conditions. Furthermore, it assists developers of such simulators in understanding the requirements, enabling them to optimize and test their devices accordingly. The proposed test series includes three phenomenological observations, in which the interaction between the PV array simulator and a randomly selected PV inverter is tested. Subsequently, three potentially standardisable tests are proposed in which certain properties, such as the accuracy and frequency response of the PV array simulators are tested and evaluated.