Test Methods for Measurement of Electrical Performance and Spectral Response of Nonconcentrator Multijunction Photovoltaic Cells and Modules

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.

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Analytical Predictions of Liquid and Air Photovoltaic/Thermal, Flat-Plate Collector Performance

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.3266256 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 103 (4) ◽

pp. 291-298 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

P. Raghuraman

Keyword(s):

Total Energy ◽

Flat Plate ◽

Temperature Difference ◽

Photovoltaic Cells ◽

Electrical Performance ◽

One Dimensional ◽

Design Recommendations ◽

Flat Plate Collector

Two separate one-dimensional analyses have been developed for the prediction of the thermal and electrical performance of both liquid and air flat-plate, photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors. The analyses account for the temperature difference between the primary insolation absorber (the photovoltaic cells) and secondary absorber (a thermal absorber flat plate). The results of the analyses are compared with test measurements, and therefrom design recommendations are made to maximize the total energy extracted from the collectors.

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Use of Silicone Oil and Coconut Oil as Liquid Spectrum Filters for BSPVT: With Emphasis on Degradation of Liquids by Sunlight

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.4038052 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 140 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sandeep S. Joshi ◽

Ashwinkumar S. Dhoble

Keyword(s):

Solar Cell ◽

Silicone Oil ◽

Spectral Response ◽

Coconut Oil ◽

Aging Effect ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Electrical Performance ◽

Thermal System ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Photovoltaic Thermal System

The solar photovoltaic thermal system (PVT) facilitates conversion of incoming solar radiations into heat and electricity simultaneously. The beam split photovoltaic thermal system (BSPVT) is one of the PVT systems. In this system, the incoming solar beam is splitted and used separately for PV and thermal system. The feasibility of water, silicone oil, and coconut oil as spectrum filter for C–Si solar photovoltaic system is reported in the literature recently. However, the changes in the optical behavior of the liquids due to extended exposure to sunlight (aging effect) had not been considered in most of the previous studies. The current study includes the methodology for the selection of liquids for BSPVT systems, estimation of external quantum efficiency (EQE) of a solar cell using liquids, and the aging effect on the liquid spectrum filters. The spectral response of the solar cell is analyzed using BENTHAM, (PVE 300) for 300–1100 nm. In this study, it has been observed that the aging of silicone oil reduces the electrical performance of the solar cell. On the other hand, the aged coconut oil improves the electrical performance of the solar cell as compared to the fresh coconut oil spectrum filter.

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