Clipping

Clipping is the visible cap in a solar PV power trace when the system reaches a power limit and output stops rising even though sunlight or available DC power could have supported more. In home solar systems the term is most often used for inverter clipping, where array DC power is above what the inverter can convert or deliver at that moment. A clipped graph should still be read with the inverter datasheet, MPPT limits, export-limit settings, temperature derating, monitoring data and MCS estimate or handover records, because a flat top can also come from export limiting, control settings or device derating rather than a fault.