Demand-Oriented PV Optimization for Addressing Grid Peaks in Residential Areas

Abstract

This paper investigates the performance of alterna tive photovoltaic (PV) system configurations, focusing on azimuth and tilt angle in relation to oversizing under grid constraints. A south-facing system tilted at 35°, typical for Central Europe, serves as the reference to evaluate two oversizing strategies: scaling all configurations to a uniform peak output, and over sizing with a fixed peak power cap, as commonly required by operators. Using PVlib and 15-minute-resolution meteorological data for Vienna, Austria, simulations compare standard south facing 35° systems with vertical 90° and east-west 65° tilted setups. Results under clear-sky and all-sky conditions show that non-traditional configurations can mitigate seasonal yield variation and better align with heat pump load profiles, enabling oversizing without surpassing grid-defined peak thresholds. In contrast most effective strategy under real-world conditions remains a south-facing system at 35° tilt, tripled in capacity and output curtailment. These findings show the importance of application-specific design in optimizing PV deployment.