Effect of Temperature on Power Output from Different Commercially available Photovoltaic Modules

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) modules are rated at standard test condition (STC) i.e. at irradiance of 1000 W/m 2 , temperature at 25 0 C and solar spectrum of Air Mass 1.5G. The actual output from the PV module in the field varies from its rated output due to change in ambient environmental conditions from the STC. The reduction in output due to temperature is determined by temperature coefficient which varies with the different types of solar module technologies. In this study, temperature coefficient of different types of commercially available solar modules is evaluated. The testing has been carried out at PV test facility of Solar Energy Centre, New Delhi. The modules are selected randomly from various manufactures. It is found that the average temperature coefficient of power for mono-crystalline, multi-crystalline and CdTe based modules are -0.446 %/°C, -0.387 %/°C and -0.172 %/°C respectively. In case of amorphous silicon module, only one sample is measured and the temperature coefficient is -0.234 %/°C. This study shows that the temperature coefficient for mono crystalline silicon module is higher than the other types of solar modules. This study provides an understanding on the variation in energy generation due to temperature correction between different cell technologies.