Solar cell junction temperature measurement of PV module

The present study develops a simple non-destructive method to measure the solar cell junction temperature of PV module. The PV module was put in the environmental chamber with precise temperature control to keep the solar PV module as well as the cell junction in thermal equilibrium with the chamber. The open-circuit voltage of PV module V_oc is then measured using a short pulse of solar irradiation provided by a solar simulator. Repeating the measurements at different environment temperature (40-80 °C) and solar irradiation S (200-1000 W/m²), the correlation between the open-circuit voltage V_oc , the junction temperature T_j , and solar irradiation S is derived.The fundamental correlation of the PV module is utilized for on-site monitoring of solar cell junction temperature using the measured V_oc and S at a short time instant with open circuit. The junction temperature T_j is then determined using the measured S and V_oc through the fundamental correlation. The outdoor test results show that the junction temperature measured using the present method, T_jo, is more accurate. The maximum error using the average surface temperature T_ave as the junction temperature is 4.8 °C underestimation; while the maximum error using the present method is 1.3 °C underestimation.     

A concentrator module of spherical Si solar cell

Spherical Si solar cell, which is made up of Si spheres with a diameter of approximately 1.0 mm, is expected to be a promising candidate for low consumption of Si feedstock and simple process technology. This paper describes the formation process and the structure of a concentrator module in detail. The concentrator lens was formed by casting with ultraviolet light hardening resin. The concentration ratio was 4.4 times and the pitch between the spheres was 2.0 mm. By this module design, it was possible to realize a consumption of the Si feedstock of about 3.0 g/W. Conversion efficiencies of 11.3% from single-sphere cell, 8.5% from a 23-spheres module and 5.2% from a 105-spheres module under AM1.5, 100 mW/cm² illumination were achieved.     

Solar module using dye-sensitized solar cells with a polymer electrolyte

Dye-sensitized TiO₂ solar cells assembled with a polymer electrolyte were investigated, aiming at the construction of an 8 V solar module. The individual solar cells were assembled with 4.5 cm² active area and were characterized under outdoor conditions, exhibiting an average efficiency of 0.9% per cell (at 12:00 noon). The solar module was built by connecting 13 cells in series. The integrated average daily power was estimated to be 183 mW. The present paper discusses the performance of the individual cells and the module.     

On the temperature dependence of photovoltaic module electrical performance: A review of efficiency/power correlations

A brief discussion is presented regarding the operating temperature of one-sun commercial grade silicon-based solar cells/modules and its effect upon the electrical performance of photovoltaic installations. Suitable tabulations are given for most of the known algebraic forms which express the temperature dependence of solar electrical efficiency and, equivalently, solar power. Finally, the thermal aspects of the major power/energy rating methods are briefly discussed.     

Maximising the light output of a Luminescent Solar Concentrator

Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSC's) are currently being developed so that sunlight may be more fully utilised in place of conventional lighting sources. In order to optimise the light output of an LSC, various collector properties including fluorescent dye concentration, collector dimensions and matrix quality have been investigated. This study, involving measurement and computer modelling of the light transport in a single colour LSC, shows that luminous output is highly sensitive to weak extinction processes in the emission spectral band. These fine details in the loss spectrum play a key role in determining the output and efficiency of an LSC system. The separation of dye and matrix losses enables a quantitative study of the effect of matrix optical quality on performance.     

Efficiency enhancement of the poly-silicon solar cell using self-assembled dielectric nanoparticles

In this study, silica nanospheres dispersed in a surfactant solution were spin-coated on commercially available silicon solar cells to form colloidal crystals on the surface. This self-assembled nanoparticle layer served as an anti-reflection (AR) layer for solar cell devices. The self-assembled layer exhibits excellent anti-reflection properties in the UV and NIR wavelength regions, and the reflectance spectra match the theoretical prediction done using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis model. We also showed that the overall conversion efficiency of polycrystalline Si solar cells coated with the silica nanospheres was increased from 11% to 12.3% when using optimized spin-coating parameters and nanoparticle concentrations.     

Portable,parallel grid dye-sensitized solar cell module prepared by screen printing

Screen-printing technology is used to fabricate large dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The high series-resistance associated with transparent conductive oxide glass substrates causes poor performance in large DSSCs especially at an exposure of 1 sun. The DSSC design has an embedded silver grid; a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate and stripe type titanium dioxide (TiO₂) active layers introduced by screen-printing. The counter electrode is prepared from a screen printable paste based on hexachloro platinic acid. A DSSC module, which consists of five stripe-type working electrodes on a 5 cm × 5 cm, embedded silver grid FTO glass substrate, shows stable performance with an energy conversion efficiency of 5.45% under standard test conditions.     

Solar cell array parameters

A generalized method of combining non identical parameters like series and shunt resistance dependent photocurrents under open circuit conditions (I_phoa) and the loaded conditions (I_pha) have been deduced. It is found that in the case of series array, only I_pha is dependent upon shunt resistance, while in the case of parallel array both are dependent upon shunt resistance.     

The 3-dimensional dye-sensitized solar cell and module based on all titanium substrates

Here we report a 3-dimensional dye-sensitized solar cell (3D-DSSCs) and module simulating the fractal structure of the pine tree for capturing sunlight. Compared to traditional flat solar cells, this type of solar cell exhibits superiority of absorbing sunlight from all directions. The fabricated 3D-DSSC and module have achieved 3.36% and 3.19% efficiencies, respectively. The results show that the shade has little effect on the performance of 3D-DSSC and module. It is expected that this 3D-DSSC and module have strong potential for practical application due to their 3D light utilization.     

Solar cell array parameters using Lambert W-function

Exact closed-form solution based on Lambert W-function are presented to express the transcendental current–voltage characteristic containing parasitic power consuming parameters like series and shunt resistances for solar cell array. Maple software was used to solve the transcendental equation of solar cell array.     

Energy conversion efficiency of solar cells coated with fluorescent coloring agent

A coating of fluorescent coloring agent (FCA) on the solar cells gives 30% increase in the energy conversion efficiency of the solar cell. This increase is attributable to the reduction of the reflection of incident light. The reflectances show low values at the excitation wavelengths, where the incident light is absorbed to excite the FCA. The fluorescence quantum yield for a dried FCA was much larger than that for FCAs dissolved in paint thinner.     

Comparison of solar cell performance of conducting polymer dyes with different functional groups

Conductive polymer precursors, including carboxylic acid, cyano groups, amino groups, 5,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene-3′-carboxylic acid (TTCA), 3′-cyano-5,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene (CTT), and 3′,4′-diamino-2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene (DATT) are synthesized. Electrochemically polymerized films of the precursors on a nanocrystalline TiO₂ layer are examined as photo sensitizers, and the cell performance is compared. The photovoltaic cells are assembled with a polymer-coated TiO₂ layer treated with TiCl₄ as an anode and a Pt layer as a cathode in a propionitrile solution containing an iodide ion-based redox electrolyte. The charge-transfer processes of polymer-dyed cells are studied using impedance spectroscopy. The polymer dyes on the TiO₂ surfaces are characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XPS results show that the conducting polymer dye, bearing a carboxylic acid group, is more strongly bound to the TiO₂ layer in comparison with other groups. Various experimental parameters affecting the cell efficiency are optimized, including the scan rate, number of potential cycles, and terthiophene monomer concentration. Of these polymers, the best cell efficiency is attained for poly-TTCA containing a carboxylic acid group. The optimized cell with the poly-TTCA dye shows a short-circuit current of 6.78 mA cm⁻², an open-circuit voltage of 0.54 V, and a fill factor of 63.6. An energy conversion efficiency of 2.32% is obtained with a cell area of 0.24 cm² under an air mass 1.5 solar simulated light irradiation of 100 mW cm⁻².     

Investigation of cloudless solar radiation with PV module employing Matlab-Simulink

This paper focuses on a novel approach to the prediction of Voltage-Current (V-I) characteristics of a Photovoltaic panel under varying weather conditions and also the modelling of hourly cloudless solar radiation to provide the insolation on a PV module of any orientation, located at any site. The empirical model developed in this study uses standard specifications together with the actual solar radiation and cell temperature. This proposed work develops a Matlab-Simulink model to generate solar radiation at any location and for any time of the year. A new model for V-I characteristics and maximum power operation of a Photovoltaic (PV) module is also presented, which aims to model the effect on V-I and P-V curves of varying climatic conditions. Moreover, this model has been implemented using the Matlab-Simulink and is used to investigate the effect of meteorological conditions on the performance of a PV module generator. Thus the combined model of cloudless solar radiation and the photovoltaic module provides a tool that may be loaded in the library for analysis purpose. It is found that the predicted solar radiation strongly agrees with the experimental data.     

Concentrating solar module with horizontal reflectors

A non-sun-tracking concentrating solar module is described that is designed to achieve photovoltaic (PV) systems with higher generation power density. The proposed concentrating module consists of a solar panel having a higher tilt angle than that of a conventional one and with a solar reflector placed in front of the solar panel on a downward inclination angle towards the panel. As a result of this configuration, the solar panel receives reflected as well as direct sunlight so that maximum irradiance and short-circuit current were increased. This configuration is expected to reduce the area required for solar panels, resulting in lower cost PV system.     

Large area thin film Si module

An initial efficiency of 14.1% (J_sc=13.6 mA/cm², V_oc=1.392 V, FF=74.3%) has been achieved for a-Si/transparent interlayer/poly Si solar cell (total area of 1 cm²). Both a-Si and crystalline Si films were fabricated by plasma chemical deposition at low temperature. The short circuit current was enhanced by the introduction of a transparent intermediate layer. An initial aperture efficiency of 11.7% has been achieved for 910×455 mm² a-Si/poly Si integrated solar cell submodule, where the laser-scribing techniques were applied for series interconnections. The results of our first run of 266 submodules in our pilot plant showed the average efficiency of 11.2%, which is applicable for mass production.     

Solar energy conversion with hot electrons from impact ionisation

Impact ionisation in combination with carrier-carrier scattering in the absence of phonon scattering in an illuminated semiconductor leads to an energy distribution of electrons in the conduction band and of holes in the valence band which is best described by a single Fermi-distribution with no splitting of quasi-Fermi-energies, but with a temperature different from the lattice temperature. To make proper use of this distribution in a solar cell, electrons and holes must be withdrawn through membranes, which are composed of narrow band, large bandgap semiconductors and which allow only electrons or holes in a narrow energy range to be transmitted. Current-voltage characteristics and efficiencies are calculated analytically for maximum concentration of the solar radiation. A maximal efficiency of 85% is found for a vanishing bandgap of the solar cell material.     

The analysis of light trapping and internal quantum efficiency of a solar cell with DBR back reflector

A theoretical analysis of the total internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of a flat-band p-n homo-junction silicon solar cell with back reflector using distributed Bragg reflectors to improve the light trapping is presented and contributions of different regions of the structure to IQEs are simulated. An optical model for the determination of generation profile of the cell is adopted and multiple light passes are considered and compared to previous single light pass approach. It is found that the spatial widths of the cell, the surface recombination velocities, the front surface transmittance and the back reflector have significant impacts on the IQEs. With two light passes and normal incident light, the simulation result shows the IQEs can be increased over the one pass value by 6.34% and with a 60° light reflection angle, the IQEs can be further increased by 9.01% while assuming the reflectance at back structure closed to 100%. The effect on IQEs by back reflectance is more significant than that by front transmittance. Under multiple light passes simulation, up to 51 light trapping passes have been considered at wavelength range 900-1100 nm, the cell IQEs can be enhanced by about 26.98%.     

Solar hydrogen production via alkaline water electrolysis

Electricity generation via direct conversion of solar energy with zero carbon dioxide emission is essential from the aspect of energy supply security as well as from the aspect of environmental protection. Therefore, this paper presents a system for hydrogen production via water electrolysis using a 960 Wp solar power plant. The results obtained from the monitoring of photovoltaic modules mounted in pairs on a fixed, a single-axis and a dual-axis solar tracker were examined to determine if there is a possibility to couple them with an electrolyzer. Energy performance of each photovoltaic system was recorded and analyzed during a period of one year, and the data were monitored on an online software service. Estimated parameters, such as monthly solar irradiance, solar electricity production, optimal angle, monthly ambient temperature, and capacity factor were compared to the observed data. In order to get energy efficiency as high as possible, a novel alkaline electrolyzer of bipolar design was constructed. Its design and operating UI characteristic are described. The operating UI characteristics of photovoltaic modules were tuned to the electrolyzer operating UI characteristic to maximize production. The calculated hydrogen rate of production was 1.138 g per hour. During the study the system produced 1.234 MWh of energy, with calculated of 1.31 MWh , which could power 122 houses, and has offset 906 kg of carbon or an equivalent of 23 trees.     

The use of the self-calibration method for accurate determination of silicon solar cell internal quantum efficiency

The application of the self-calibration method as a means of increasing the accuracy of spectral response, SR, and internal quantum efficiency, Q(λ), measurements is discussed. The principle of the method is the precise calculation of Q(λ_m) of a test cell for light at λ_m≈0.8 μm, where the response is weakly dependent on the emitter and base parameters. The ratio of the calculated and measured Q(λ_m) values gives the corresponding factor for shifting the experimental spectral response curve. The sequence of calculations is described, and an algorithm of the necessary operations for a computer is developed. Several examples of the use of the self-calibration method for correction of SR measurements of solar cells with low shunt resistance demonstrate its very high effectiveness. The corrected Q(λ) values follow the respective actual data with very high accuracy even when the measured SR is decreased by factor 2–3 due to low shunt resistance of the solar cell.     

Increasing the efficiency of fluorescent concentrator systems

This study examines concepts for increasing the efficiency of fluorescent concentrator systems. Different system sizes and configurations are investigated in detail by external quantum efficiency measurements, light-beam-induced current maps and by I-V measurements. A photonic structure that serves as a bandstop reflection filter for light emitted from dyes in the fluorescent concentrator increases the system efficiency relatively by 20%. Such photonic structures are especially beneficial for larger systems. The combination of two fluorescent concentrators made with different dyes in one stack increases the system efficiency from 5.1% with only one dye to 6.7% for the stack.