How to Use This Tool
Compare available AC-equivalent power with the inverter ceiling over an entered interval. Estimate solar clipping energy, delivered energy, loss percentage and DC-to-AC ratio from user-entered interval assumptions.
The decision this tool supports
A high DC-to-AC ratio does not equal the energy clipped; the loss depends on how far and how long available output exceeds the inverter ceiling. This page keeps the decision bounded to clipped energy and the supporting outputs shown beside it. Solar Clipping Loss does not import an account, infer a market rate, or silently substitute an industry average.
Inputs and units
The Solar Clipping Loss calculation uses Available array power before inverter, Inverter AC limit, Interval duration, Pre-clipping efficiency. Keep all money values in one currency and all time, distance, mass, energy or volume entries in the unit printed beside the field. Mixing Solar Clipping Loss scopes can produce a plausible number with the wrong meaning.
- Available array power before inverter is entered in kW.
- Inverter AC limit is entered in kW.
- Interval duration is entered in hours.
- Pre-clipping efficiency is entered in %.
Formula and worked check
Available power = array power × pre-clipping efficiency; clipped energy = max(available power − inverter limit, 0) × interval hours. 6 kW available-array input at 98% efficiency against a 5 kW inverter for four hours delivers 20.00 kWh and clips 3.52 kWh, or 15.0% of available energy. The Solar Clipping Loss default is an executable known-answer case, not a benchmark or recommendation. Change one input and verify that the direction of clipped energy still matches the stated relationship.
How to interpret the result
Use interval or time-series values for meaningful annual work. One peak interval cannot forecast annual clipping. The additional Solar Clipping Loss outputs expose the denominator, comparison, capacity or reverse value needed to audit the primary result instead of presenting one unexplained number.
Assumptions
- Array power is an AC-equivalent pre-inverter estimate for the interval.
- Efficiency is applied before the clipping ceiling.
- Power stays constant over the entered interval.
Save the Solar Clipping Loss input values and date with any material decision. A later Solar Clipping Loss rerun is reproducible only when the same assumptions and units are available.
Limitations and safety boundary
Temperature, irradiance shape, inverter curve, MPPT channels, wiring, shading, curtailment and time-series integration are simplified or excluded. Solar Clipping Loss is an estimate and cannot replace a contract, local code, licensed professional, calibrated measurement, lender statement or platform report where one governs the decision.
Source and privacy
The Solar Clipping Loss definition or rule was checked against NREL — PVWatts Version 5 Manual on 2026-08-26. Recheck NREL — PVWatts Version 5 Manual when a specification or policy behind Solar Clipping Loss can change. Solar Clipping Loss arithmetic runs in this browser tab; ecech does not receive the values through a calculation API.
Sources & assumptions
Tool Spec v2 · verified 2026-08-26. Platform rules and fees can change; the editable inputs remain authoritative for your account.
Official references
- NREL — PVWatts Version 5 Manual (checked 2026-08-26)
Model assumptions
- Array power is an AC-equivalent pre-inverter estimate for the interval.
- Efficiency is applied before the clipping ceiling.
- Power stays constant over the entered interval.
- Temperature, irradiance shape, inverter curve, MPPT channels, wiring, shading, curtailment and time-series integration are simplified or excluded.
