API field
Module efficiency
Efficiency at standard test conditions on the module area
Unit %
What it is
The module's efficiency at standard test conditions: the nameplate power over the module area times 1,000 W/m². Only the PVWatts DC model reads it, to set the module area that the cell-temperature models use.
Typical values and how to get it
From the datasheet; about 19 to 23 % for current crystalline silicon modules. If not given: the module area is the width times the height; without those, the efficiency is 19 %, and 18 % for CdTe, CIGS and a-Si (PVWatts version 8's standard and thin-film modules). Only the PVWatts DC model reads it.
References
- Dobos 2014, PVWatts Version 5 Manual, NREL/TP-6A20-62641
API
module.efficiency — sent as a fraction 0–1