Solar Lattice

Metric

Mean time between failures

ID
metric:mtbf
IRI
https://solarlattice.org/kb/metric/mtbf
Status
active
Also known as
MTBF
Category
Reliability

Mean time between failures is the average exposure time between one failure of a component and its next failure. It is calculated by dividing the total period over which data was collected by the total number of failures recorded in that period, and it is expressed in hours. The total period is the calendar time of data collection in hours, and total failures is the count of failures during that period. MTBF is the inverse of the failure rate, and together with mean time to repair it gives inherent availability as MTBF divided by the sum of MTBF and MTTR. IEEE 493-2007 (the Gold Book) defines the term and its formula in its reliability definitions. O&M guidelines list MTBF as an equipment KPI that plant operators track, and one microinverter vendor gives 10 to 15 years as typical for traditional central or string inverters.

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