Testing Bifacial PV Cells in Symmetric and Asymmetric Concentrating CPC Collectors

Bifacial PV cells have the capacity to produce solar electricity from both sides and, thus, amongst other advantages, allow a significantly increase both in peak and annual power output while utilizing the same amount of silicone. According to the manufacturer, the bifacial cells are around 1.3 times more expensive than the single-sided cells. This way, bifacial PV cells can effectively reduce the cost of solar power for certain applications. Today, the most common application for these cells is in stationary vertical collectors which are exposed to sunlight from both sides, as the relative position of the sun changes throughout the day. Another possible application is to utilize these cells in concentrating collectors. Three test prototypes utilizing bifacial PV cells were built. The initial two prototypes were built for indoor testing and differed only in geometry of the reflector, one being asymmetric and the other symmetric. Both prototypes were evaluated in an indoor solar simulator. Both reflector designs yielded positive electrical performance results and similar efficiencies from both sides of the cell were achieved. However, lower fill factor than expected was achieved for both designs when compared to the single cell tests. The results are discussed and suggestions for further testing are presented. A third prototype was built in order to perform outdoor evaluations. This prototype utilized a bifacial PV cells string laminated in silicone enclosed between 2 standard glass panes and a collector box with an asymmetric CPC concentrator. The prototype peak electrical efficiency and temperature dependence were evaluated. A comparison between the performance of the bottom and top sides of the asymmetric collector is also presented. Additionally, the incidence modifier angle (IAM) is also briefly discussed.

Numerical Assessment of the Thermal Efficiency of a Concentrated Photovoltaic/Thermal (CPV/T) Hybrid System Using Air as Heat Transfer Fluid

In this paper, we propose a thermal model of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal concentration system. Starting from the thermal balance of the model, the equation is solved and simulated with a MATLAB code, considering air as the cooling fluid. This enabled us to evaluate some of the parameters influencing the electrical and thermal performance of this device. The results showed that the temperature, thermal efficiency and electrical efficiency delivered depend on the air mass flow rate. The electrical and thermal efficiencies for different values of air mass flow are encouraging, and demonstrate the benefits of cooling photovoltaic cells. The results show that thermal efficiency decreases air flow rate greater than 0.7 kg/s, whatever the value of the light concentration used. The thermal efficiency of the solar cell increases as the light concentration increases, whatever the air flow rate used. For a concentration equal to 30 sun, the thermal efficiency is 0.16 with an air flow rate equal to 0.005 kg/s;the thermal efficiency increases to 0.19 with an air flow rate equal to 0.1 kg/s at the same concentration. An interesting and useful finding was that the proposed numerical model allows the determination of the electrical as well as thermal efficiency of the hybrid CPV/T with air flow as cooling fluid.

Experimental Analysis to Extract the Maximum Output of Serial and Parallel PV Module Configurations under Partial Shadow Conditions: A Case Study for Bambey, Senegal

Using an experimental setup, the series configurations (SC) and the parallel configurations (PC) of the PV cell connection are studied to compare their performance under the condition of partial shading s. The performance of the configurations is evaluated by comparing the open-circuit voltage, the short-circuit current, the maximum power point (MPP), the voltage and current corresponding to MPP, and the Fill Factor (FF). The variations of the series resistance and the shunt resistance of a PV module under different irradiance levels are also determined by considering the effect of thermal voltage. Finally, a comparison between the performance losses in the different configurations is presented. The results of this study show that the parallel configuration has the best performance under the conditions of partial shade in the context of this work.

Impact of the Thicknesses of the p and p+ Regions on the Electrical Parameters of a Bifacial PV Cell

The present paper is about a contribution to the bifacial PV cell performances improvement. The PV cell efficiency is weak compared to the strong energy demand. In this study, the base thickness impacts and the p+ zone size influence are evaluated on the rear face of the polycrystalline back surface field bifacial silicon PV cell. The photocurrent density and photovoltage behaviors versus thickness of these regions are studied. From a three-dimensional grain of the polycrystalline bifacial PV cell, the magneto-transport and continuity equations of excess minority carriers are solved to find the expression of the density of excess minority carriers and the related electrical parameters, such as the photocurrent density, the photovoltage and the electric power for simultaneous illumination on both sides. The photocurrent density, the photovoltage and electric power versus junction dynamic velocity decrease for different thicknesses of base and the p+ region increases for simultaneous illumination on both sides. It is found that the thickness of the p+ region at 0.1 μm and the base size at 100 μm allow reaching the best bifacial PV cell performances. Consequently, it is imperative to consider the reduction in the thickness of the bifacial PV cell for exhibition of better performance. This reduced the costs and increase production speed while increasing conversion efficiency.

Photovoltaic Cell Panels Soiling Inspection Using Principal Component Thermal Image Processing

Intended for good productivity and perfect operation of the solar power grid a failure-free system is required.Therefore,thermal image processing with the thermal camera is the latest non-invasive(without manual contact)type fault identification technique which may give good precision in all aspects.The soiling issue,which is major productivity affecting factor may import from several reasons such as dust on the wind,bird mucks,etc.The efficient power production sufferers due to accumulated soil deposits reaching from 1%–7%in the county,such as India,to more than 25%in middle-east countries country,such as Dubai,Kuwait,etc.This research offers a solar panel soiling detection system built on thermal imaging which powers the inspection method and mitigates the requirement for physical panel inspection in a large solar production place.Hence,in this method,solar panels can be verified by working without disturbing production operation and it will save time and price of recognition.India ranks 3rd worldwide in the usage use age of Photovoltaic(PV)panels now and it is supported about 8.6%of the Nation’s electricity need in the year 2020.In the meantime,the installed PV production areas in India are aged 4–5 years old.Hence the need for inspection and maintenance of installed PV is growing fast day by day.As a result,this research focuses on finding the soiling hotspot exactly of the working solar panels with the help of Principal Components Thermal Analysis(PCTA)on MATLAB Environment.

Calculating the shading reduction coefficient of photovoltaic system efficiency using the anisotropic sky scattering model

The front-row shading reduction coefficient is a key parameter used to calculate the system efficiency of a photovoltaic(PV)power station.Based on the Hay anisotropic sky scattering model,the variation rule of solar radiation intensity on the surface of the PV array during the shaded period is simulated,combined with the voltage-current characteristics of the PV modules,and the shadow occlusion operating mode of the PV array is modeled.A method for calculating the loss coefficient of front shadow occlusion based on the division of the PV cell string unit and Hay anisotropic sky scattering model is proposed.This algorithm can accurately evaluate the degree of influence of the PV array layout,wiring mode,array spacing,PV module specifications,and solar radiation on PV power station system efficiency.It provides a basis for optimizing the PV array layout,reducing system loss,and improving PV system efficiency.

Influence of Dust Deposition on the Electrical Parameters of Silicon-Based Solar Panels Installed in Senegal (Dakar Region)

In recent years, photovoltaic (PV) modules are widely used in many applications around the world. However, this renewable energy is plagued by dust, airborne particles, humidity, and high ambient temperatures. This paper studies the effect of dust soiling on silicon-based photovoltaic panel performance in a mini-solar power plant located in Dakar (Senegal, 14°42'N latitude, 17°28'W longitude). Results of the current-voltage (I - V) characteristics of photovoltaic panels tested under real conditions. We modeled a silicon-based PV cell in a dusty environment as a stack of thin layers of dust, glass and silicon. The silicon layer is modeled as a P-N junction. The study performed under standard laboratory conditions with input data of irradiation at 1000 W/m2, cell temperature at 25°C and solar spectrum with Air Mass (AM) at 1.5 for the monocrystalline silicon PV cell (m-Si). The analysis with an ellipsometer of dust samples collected on photovoltaic panels allowed to obtain the refraction indices (real and imaginary) of these particles which will complete the input parameters of the model. Results show that for a photon flux arriving on dust layer of 70 μm (corresponding to dust deposit of 3.3 g/m2) deposited on silicon-based PV cells, short circuit current decreases from 54 mA (for a clean cell) to 26 mA. Also, conversion efficiency decreases by 50% compared to clean cell and the cell fill factor decreases by 76% - 50% compared to reference PV cell.

Pc-Si and c-Si Cell Studies at Transient and Steady State Conditions in Various Illumination Levels

A set of experiments was designed to study the power performance of a c-Si and a pc-Si cell when exposed to various levels of high illumination. The light concentration ratio, C, ranges from C 〈 1, up to C ≈ 26. An experimental set up was built for the purposes of this project. PV cell modeling is outlined in this paper for isc, Voc and the PV cell temperature, Tc, which predicts those quantities. There the behaviour of the two PV-cells at both transient out steady state conditions is studied. Predicted values are compared against measured ones. A comparison of the experimental values against the theoretically predicted ones is performed for the range C 〈 1 to C ≈ 26. Power recovery is tried through heat removal from both sides of the PV-cells by air forced flow. Experiments show recovery whose degree is close to 100% for low C values. On the other hand, as C grows higher, P~ starts decreasing too. PV cell temperatures reached up to 136 ℃ for C = 25. This is a challenge as reduction of temperature delivers a good amount of heat, in the cogeneration effect, while it has a positive impact to power recovery of the PV cell.

Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) as (i) Type in the Photovoltaic Cell of Nano-Dimensions

In this paper, a new modified approach to design the photovoltaic cell has been presented by adding Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) as type (i). The main issue is to increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic cell, on the other hand, to exploit a larger range of electromagnetic wave frequencies, specifically a range within terahertz (THz) frequency domain, using 3D EM computer simulation technology (CST). It is clear in the normal PV cell start working at frequency of 500 THz, while the frequency at which the PV cell with SWCNTs operates is much less and it is close to zero, on the other hand, the PV cell with SWCNTs needs a larger cross-section area of 2800 nm2 to operate at frequency of 500 THz. This cell can be easily produced industrially, which means increases the efficiency of solar cell.

A novel porous channel to optimize the cooling performance of PV modules

This paper dealt with a series of numerical investigations on a new porous cooling channel applied to PV/T systems in order to improve the insufficient heat transfer in the conventional channel.The proposed porous cooling channel based on field synergy theory had a higher overall heat transfer coefficient,which enhanced the total efficiency of the PV/T system.The numerical model was validated with experimental data.The results showed that holes distributed non-uniformly near the outlet of the cooling water led to a better cooling effect,and a hole diameter of 0.005 m led to an optimal performance.The total efficiency of the PV module with the new cooling channel was 4.17%higher than the conventional one at a solar irradiance of 1000 W/m^(2)and an inlet mass flow rate of 0.006 kg/s.In addition,as the solar irradiance increased from 300 to 1200 W/m^(2),the total efficiency of the new PV/T system dropped by 5.07%,which included reductions in both the electrical and thermal efficiency.The total efficiency was improved by 18.04%as the inlet mass flow rate of cooling water increased from 0.002 to 0.02 kg/s.

Droop Control Method to Achieve Maximum Power Output of Photovoltaic for Parallel Inverter System

In general,the power distribution of a parallel inverter is achieved by the use of droop control in a microgrid system,which consists of PV inverters and non-regeneration energy source inverters without energy storage devices in an islanded mode.If the shared load power is no more than the available maximum PV inverter output power,then there is a power waste for the PV inverter.In addition,due to the intermittency of PV sources,the system may become unstable if the shared load power is more than the available maximum power output of the PV(MPO-PV)inverter.Therefore,in order to avoid power waste and potential instability caused by insufficient PV power by traditional droop control,this paper recommends an improved droop control scheme to maximize the power output of PV units.As required by the load,the remaining power is composed of the other inverters,which can effectively improve the utilization rating of renewable energy sources and system stability.At the same time,according to the system stability analysis based on small signal modeling,it has been designed around the droop coefficients of the improved droop control loop.In the end,the simulation and experimental results show that the suggested scheme has a varied validity and robustness.

An Experimental Study on a Microclimatic Layer of a Bionic Facade Inspired by Vertical Greenery

A microclimatic layer of the green facade is proven to have specific temperature and flow conditions on the building en- velope. Lower temperatures and wind velocities, and higher relative humidity in the microclimatic layer are the characteristics of vertical greenery systems, which cause lower energy consumption for the cooling and heating of buildings. Despite innova- tive architectural solutions, there are some drawbacks to applying vertical greenery on building envelopes. In this study, a bionic facade that mimics the positive effects and eliminates the disadvantages of green facades is presented. The bionic fagade consists of bionic leaves, which are made ofphotovoltaic cells and evaporative matrices. A real scale experiment was carried out in the summer to evaluate the potential of the cooling efficiency of the microclimatic layer and a new photovoltaic cooling technique. The results show a good agreement of the thermal performance between the bionic and the green facade and up to 20.8 K lower surface temperatures of photovoltaic cells, which increase the daily electricity yield by 6.6%.