The potential array output energy, E(p), stated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in their European Guidelines for the Assessment of Photovoltaic Plants and the IEC Standard 61724 does not estimate properly the potential array output of stand-alone photovoltaic (SAPV) systems without maximum power point tracker (MPPT) as it is the case for SAPV systems with MPPT and grid connected systems. In this way, the main purpose of this paper is to validate an expression that compromises simplicity and accuracy when estimating the potential array output of SAPV systems without MPPT. This issue can be of high interest to photovoltaic (PV) practitioners and experts as it can improve the analysis performance of this type of systems, helping to discriminate better the different losses in this kind of systems. Furthermore, a study of the array potential estimation through different expressions will be developed in order to evaluate which matches better the array potential output in SAPV system without MPPT. Although the analysis will be focused especially in Mediterranean climates, it will be derived some general conclusions that can be considered in other climates. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.