Impact of PV Inverter Reactive Power Control on Local Voltage and Real Power Generation
Sampson A. Bendor and Yahia Baghzouz Department of Electrical Engineering University of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA). 2026-06-27

Abstract

Behind-the-meter smart photovoltaic inverters areknown to have the ability to generate or absorb reactive power for local voltage regulation/support, in addition to their main task of converting DC to AC power. This paper presents field tests on the impact of inverter reactive power on the local voltage at two customer sites with rooftop PV systems. Two inverter control approaches were tested: Volt-VAR control, and direct reactive power dispatch. The latter reveals not only the amount of additional power loss in the inverter, but also a measurable change in local voltage that can be utilized to estimate the Tevenin impedance of the network.

Key words: Smart PV inverters, Volt-VAR control, direct reactive power dispatch, voltage regulation.

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