SAM Capacity Factor

  • nino
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09 Nov 2015 18:17 - 03 Oct 2019 20:04 #3902 by nino
SAM Capacity Factor was created by nino
I have been checking SAM's Capacity Factor help page:

Here is a quote from it:

"The capacity factor is the ratio of the system's predicted electrical output in the first year of operation to the nameplate output, which is equivalent to the quantity of energy the system would generate if it operated at its nameplate capacity for every hour of the year.
Capacity Factor = Net Annual Energy (kWhac/yr) / System Capacity (kWdc or kWac) / 8760"

Based on upper explanation, would it be logical that the formula for Capacity Factor is actually:

Capacity Factor = Net Annual Energy (kWhac/yr) / System Capacity (kWdc or kWac) * 8760

?
Last edit: 03 Oct 2019 20:04 by Paul Gilman.

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  • Paul Gilman
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09 Nov 2015 18:56 #3903 by Paul Gilman
Replied by Paul Gilman on topic SAM Capacity Factor
As an example, take a 200 kW (DC) photovoltaic system that generates 360,000 kWh in Year 1. The capacity factor would be:

360000 kWh/yr / 200 kW / 8760 h/yr = 0.21

Another way to write the same equation would be:

360000 kWh/yr / ( 200 kW * 8760 h/yr ) = 0.21

Best regards,
Paul.

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  • nino
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09 Nov 2015 19:59 #3904 by nino
Replied by nino on topic SAM Capacity Factor
My mistake.
Thank you for the quick reply and examples Paul.

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