Development of a Thermal Model for Photovoltaic Modules and Analysis of NOCT Guidelines

2011 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ty W. Neises ◽  
Sanford A. Klein ◽  
Douglas T. Reindl

The temperature of a photovoltaic module is typically required as an input to models that predict the module’s performance. Some common models use the nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT), as by the manufacturer. This paper develops a thermal model and uses it to analyze NOCT testing standards. Specifically, the standard correction factor charts found in the ASTM E1036 and IEC 61215 standards are evaluated. Results show that the correction charts were likely created assuming laminar flow correlations, while validation efforts and the fact that wind is often characterized by turbulence even at low wind speeds suggest that turbulent flow models may be more appropriate. In addition, the results presented in this paper show that the standard NOCT charts do not account for the backside insulation of photovoltaic (PV) arrays. These results suggest that the standard correction charts are inaccurate for any mounting types that differ from the open rack configuration. The paper concludes with recommendations to improve the usefulness of the NOCT.

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Marc-Alain Mutombo ◽  
Freddie Inambao ◽  
Glen Bright

The conversion of solar irradiance into electricity by a photovoltaic module (PV) is 6– 7% of the incoming energy from the sun depending on the type of technology and the environmental parameters. More than 80% of incoming energy from the sun is reflected or absorbed by the solar module. The fraction of energy absorbed increases with solar cell temperature and the cells’ efficiency drops as a consequence. The efficiency of a PV module is improved by combining a PV module and a thermal collector in one unit, resulting in a hybrid photovoltaic and thermal collector (PV/T). The purpose of this paper is to present the behavior a thermosyphon hybrid PV/T when exposed to variations of environmental parameters and to demonstrate the advantage of cooling photovoltaic modules with water using a rectangular channel profile for the thermal collector. A single glazed flat-box absorber PV/T module was designed, its behavior for different environmental parameters tested, the numerical model developed, and the simulation for particular days for Durban weather run. The simulation result showed that the overall efficiency of the PV/T module was 38.7% against 14.6% for a standard PV module while the water temperature in the storage tank reached 37.1 °C. This is a great encouragement to the marketing of the PV/T technology in South Africa particularly during summer, and specifically in areas where the average annual solar irradiance is more than 4.70 kWh/m²/day.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 2490
Author(s):  
Caio Felippe Abe ◽  
João Batista Dias ◽  
Gilles Notton ◽  
Ghjuvan Antone Faggianelli

Solar irradiance and cell temperature are the most significant aspects when assessing the production of a photovoltaic system. To avoid the need of specific sensors for quantifying such parameters, recent literature presents methods to estimate them through electrical measurements, using the photovoltaic module itself as a sensor. This work presents an application of such methods to data recorded using a research platform at University of Corsica, in France. The methods and the platform are briefly presented and the results are shown and discussed in terms of normalized mean absolute errors (nMAE) and root mean square errors (nRMSE) for various irradiance and cell temperature levels. The nMAE (and nRMSE) for solar irradiance are respectively between 3.5% and 3.9% (4.2% and 4.7%). Such errors on computed irradiance are in the same order of magnitude as those found in the literature, with a simple implementation. For cell temperatures estimation, the nMAE and nRMSE were found to be in the range 3.4%–8.2% and 4.3%–10.7%. These results show that using such methods could provide an estimation for the values of irradiance and cell temperature, even if the modules are not new and are not regularly cleaned, but of course not partially shaded.


Author(s):  
Julie C. Ogbulezie ◽  
Armstrong O. Njok ◽  
Manoj Kumar Panjwani ◽  
Suresh K. Panjwani

Solar cells are highly sensitive to temperature, which affects its operating parameters. The study has its aim in accessing the impact of temperature (in excess above the maximum operating cell temperature) and irradiance source on the efficiency of polycrystalline photovoltaic (PV) solar panels in an environment where the temperature and irradiance level can be fully controlled. For the study to achieve its aim, a solar box and tungsten light bulbs were used to create an environment where the irradiance level and the temperature can be controlled. The solar panel was placed inside the solar box facing the light source while the irradiance level and temperature were measured and held constant. Results show a steady decrease in voltage with increasing temperature while the performance ratio and efficiency of the photovoltaic module followed a similar trend as that of voltage once the temperature exceeds the maximum operating cell temperature. Results also show the output voltage of the photovoltaic to be higher under the tungsten light than the sun, but the efficiency achieved by the photovoltaic under the sun far exceeds that obtained under the tungsten light.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (41) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
DMITRIY STREBKOV ◽  
◽  
NATAL’YA FILIPPCHENKOVA ◽  

In the field of energy supply to agro-industrial facilities, there is an increasing interest in the development of structures and engineering systems using renewable energy sources, including solar concentrator thermal and photovoltaic modules that combine photovoltaic modules and solar collectors in one structure. The use of the technology of concentrator heat and photovoltaic modules makes it possible to increase the electrical performance of solar cells by cooling them during operation, and significantly reduces the need for centralized electricity and heat supply to enterprises of the agroindustrial complex. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in numerical modeling of thermal processes occurring in a solar concentrator heat-photovoltaic module. (Materials and methods) Authors used analytical methods for mathematical modeling of a solar concentrator heat and photovoltaic module. Authors implemented a mathematical model of a solar concentrator heat and photovoltaic module in the ANSYS Fluent computer program. The distribution contours of temperature and pressure of the coolant in the module channel were obtained for different values of the coolant flow rate at the inlet. The verification of the developed model of the module on the basis of data obtained in an analytical way has been performed. (Results and discussion) The results of comparing the calculated data with the results of computer modeling show a high convergence of the information obtained with the use of a computer model, the relative error is within acceptable limits. (Conclusions) The developed design of the solar concentrator heat and photovoltaic module provides effective cooling of photovoltaic cells (the temperature of photovoltaic cells is in the operating range) with a module service life of at least twenty-five years. The use of a louvered heliostat in the developed design of a solar concentrator heat and photovoltaic module can double the performance of the concentrator.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 63-71
Author(s):  
Yui-Chuin Shiah ◽  
Chia Hsiang Chang ◽  
Yu-Jen Chen ◽  
Ankam Vinod Kumar Reddy

ABSTRACT Generally, the environmental wind speeds in urban areas are relatively low due to clustered buildings. At low wind speeds, an aerodynamic stall occurs near the blade roots of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), leading to decay of the power coefficient. The research targets to design canards with optimal parameters for a small-scale HAWT system operated at variable rotational speeds. The design was to enhance the performance by delaying the aerodynamic stall near blade roots of the HAWT to be operated at low wind speeds. For the optimal design of canards, flow fields of the sample blades with and without canards were both simulated and compared with the experimental data. With the verification of our simulations, Taguchi analyses were performed to seek the optimum parameters of canards. This study revealed that the peak performance of the optimized canard system operated at 540 rpm might be improved by ∼35%.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2912
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Doerffer ◽  
Janusz Telega ◽  
Piotr Doerffer ◽  
Paulina Hercel ◽  
Andrzej Tomporowski

Savonius rotors are large and heavy because they use drag force for propulsion. This leads to a larger investment in comparison to horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) rotors using lift forces. A simple construction of the Savonius rotor is preferred to reduce the production effort. Therefore, it is proposed here to use single-segment rotors of high elongation. Nevertheless, this rotor type must be compared with a multi-segment rotor to prove that the simplification does not deteriorate the effectiveness. The number of segments affects the aerodynamic performance of the rotor, however, the results shown in the literature are inconsistent. The paper presents a new observation that the relation between the effectiveness of single- and multi-segment rotors depends on the wind velocity. A single-segment rotor becomes significantly more effective than a four-segment rotor at low wind speeds. At high wind speeds, the effectiveness of both rotors becomes similar.


Author(s):  
Borut Jereb ◽  
Brigita Gajšek ◽  
Gregor Šipek ◽  
Špela Kovše ◽  
Matevz Obrecht

Black carbon is one of the riskiest particle matter pollutants that is harmful to human health. Although it has been increasingly investigated, factors that depend on black carbon distribution and concentration are still insufficiently researched. Variables, such as traffic density, wind speeds, and ground levels can lead to substantial variations of black carbon concentrations and potential exposure, which is even riskier for people living in less-airy sites. Therefore, this paper “fills the gaps” by studying black carbon distribution variations, concentrations, and oscillations, with special emphasis on traffic density and road segments, at multiple locations, in a small city located in a basin, with frequent temperature inversions and infrequent low wind speeds. As wind speed has a significant impact on black carbon concentration trends, it is critical to present how low wind speeds influence black carbon dispersion in a basin city, and how black carbon is dependent on traffic density. Our results revealed that when the wind reached speeds of 1 ms−1, black carbon concentrations actually increased. In lengthy wind periods, when wind speeds reached 2 or 3 ms−1, black carbon concentrations decreased during rush hour and in the time of severe winter biomass burning. By observing the results, it could be concluded that black carbon persists longer in higher altitudes than near ground level. Black carbon concentration oscillations were also seen as more pronounced on main roads with higher traffic density. The more the traffic decreases and becomes steady, the more black carbon concentrations oscillate.


Machines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Vladimir Dotsenko ◽  
Roman Prokudin ◽  
Alexander Litvinenko

The article deals with the optimal control of the positional electric drive of the stator element of a segment-type wind turbine. The calculation options charts current in the assumption of the minimum energy consumption and the implementation of line chart current using the phenomenon of capacitor discharge. The analysis of the implementation is expressed in a jump-like change in current and a triangular graph of the speed change. This article deals with small capacity synchronous wind turbine generators with a segment type stator. These units have the possibility of intentionally changing the air gap between the rotor and stator. This allows: (1) Reduce the starting torque on the rotor shaft, which will allow the rotor to pick up at low wind speeds. (2) Equivalent to change of air gap in this case is change of excitation of synchronous generators. Thus, the purpose of the article is to consider a method of excitation of generators in a segmented design, by controlling the gap with the electric drive, while providing control should be carried out with minimal losses.


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