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Technical Standards for Solar Home Systems (SHS)
Field experience with PV rural electrification has shown that the performance of solar home systems SHSs is not always entirely satisfactory. However, in-depth studies of the problems encountered in existing installations have revealed that the pure solar part, i.e. the PV generator, rarely fails. The PV system is often initially blamed for the failure but, when things go wrong, it is usually the other PV system components or the appliances which are powered by the PV generator which are found to have failed. This is mainly because, while PV modules are highly standardised and certified using internationally validated procedures, there are no equivalent standards and procedures available for balance-of-system components, component matching or installation quality, even though the quality of these components has a dramatic influence on user satisfaction and operating costs.
