The Temperature Effect on Solar Photovoltaic Module Efficiency

The solar photovoltaic (PV) system generates both electrical and thermal energy from solar radiation. In this paper, an attempt has been made for evaluating the effect of temperature on the energy and power conversion efficiency of a solar PV module installed at Karabuk province in Turkey. Using the first law of thermodynamics, energy analysis was performed and the variation of maximum power point was observed during the PV conversion process. The operating and electrical parameters of a PV array include PV module temperature, overall heat loss coefficient, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, fill factor, etc. were experimentally determined for a week of November, 2015. The experimental data are used for the calculation of the energy and power conversion efficiencies of the PV systems. Energy efficiency is seen to vary between 13% and 21% during the week. In contrast, power conversion efficiency is lower for electricity generation using the considered PV module, ranging from 8% to 16%. It is observed that the PV module temperature has a great effect on both the energy and power conversion efficiency. Besides, these efficiencies can be improved if the heat can be removed from the PV module surface. It was concluded that the energy losses increased with increasing module temperature.