Title :
Effects of inhomogeneous irradiation distribution on a PV array in an urban environment
Author_Institution :
Syst. Simulation Group, Fraunhofer-Inst. fur Solare Energiesysteme, Freiburg, Germany
Abstract :
The effect of inhomogeneous irradiation on building-integrated photovoltaic arrays is studied with the help of the simulation program, PVPACK, developed in this work. Particular attention is paid to the effect of partial shading and reflection on photovoltaic (PV) arrays from the surrounding environment. By incorporating the raytracing program, RADIANCE, the irradiation distribution on the building surface can be calculated with a high resolution. Simulation results show that a poorly planned lay-out design of a PV array on a building can lead to large energy losses. Such a simulation tool is a helpful aid for successful incorporation of PV in the building sector
Keywords :
digital simulation; power engineering computing; ray tracing; simulation; solar cell arrays; solar cells; sunlight; PV array; PVPACK simulation program; RADIANCE raytracing program; building surface; building-integrated photovoltaic arrays; energy losses; inhomogeneous irradiation distribution; partial shading; poorly planned lay-out design; urban environment; Buildings; Energy loss; Energy resolution; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaic systems; Reflection; Solar energy; Solar power generation; Telephone poles; Urban areas;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1460-3
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520128
