Impact of high temperature and other factors on PV [photovoltaic] module efficiency on small farms in Latvia
2020
Stanka, N., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia) | Aboltins, A., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia) | Palabinskis, J., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia)
Conversion of light into electricity is a relatively new invention. The use of solar energy has grown rapidly in the world. Advances in technology, climate change and price reduction have made PV systems very popular nowadays. However, despite the huge advances in technology, PV modules have relatively low efficiency. It is very important, because it shows how much solar energy PV modules can convert into electrical power. There are many factors that affect the efficiency of PV modules. One of them is temperature. It may seem a surprise for many people, but PV module performance is affected negatively by temperature increases. Therefore, it is important to examine the power losses of PV module overheating. The aim of this study is to determine and compare power losses from PV module overheating in several days with different weather conditions. Within this study 4 different days with various weather conditions were selected. For each day measurements of solar irradiance, solar elevation angle, solar azimuth angle, ambient temperature, PV module temperature and PV power from sunrise to sunset were obtained. The time of sunrise and sunset were different on each day. In order to achieve more objective results, the obtained data were analysed from 10:00 to 18:00. The ranges of average results in the given time period were determined and compared. The average solar irradiance ranged from 432.74 to 665.37 W•mE−2, average ambient temperature from 13.50 to 25.35 ºC, average PV module temperature from 27.03 to 43.07 ºC, average PV power from 77.13 to 122.51 W•mE−2, average power losses from PV module overheating from 0.81 to 7.23 % (from 1.25 to 7.98 W•mE−2) and the average efficiency of PV modules ranged from 17.82 to 20.57 %. Power losses were up to 12.63 W•mE−2, when the temperature of PV modules reached 53.5 ºC. The results show that high PV module temperature causes noticeable power loss.
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