Title :
Modeling the Effects of Inhomogeneous Irradiation and Temperature Profile on CPV Solar Cell Behavior
Author :
Reis, F. ; Guerreiro, C. ; Batista, F. ; Pimentel, T. ; Pravettoni, M. ; Wemans, J. ; Sorasio, G. ; Brito, M.C.
Author_Institution :
Fac. of Sci., Dept. de Eng. Geogr., Geofis. e Energia (DEGGE), Univ. of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract :
Solar cells that integrate concentration photovoltaic systems are usually exposed to inhomogeneous illumination and temperature profiles which influence their performance. Under such conditions, the solar cell behavior is only accurately modeled if the diode and resistive losses are considered to be distributed across the solar cell instead of being gathered, as in the conventional lumped model. This paper presents a distributed diode model and its experimental validation, which was carried out for standard test conditions and a range of temperature and concentration levels going from 25 to 70 °C and 1 to 30 suns, respectively, for both homogeneous and a set of inhomogeneous profiles. Modeled and experimental results showed good agreement, thus validating the model. The results of traditional and distributed model approaches are compared with homogeneous and inhomogeneous profiles of irradiation and temperature. Finally, we analyze the effect of different profiles on cell performance.
Keywords :
semiconductor device models; solar cells; CPV solar cell behavior; concentration levels; concentration photovoltaic systems; distributed diode model; homogeneous profiles; inhomogeneous illumination; inhomogeneous irradiation; inhomogeneous profiles; resistive losses; standard test conditions; temperature 25 degC to 70 degC; temperature profile; Lighting; Mathematical model; Photovoltaic cells; Radiation effects; Resistance; Sun; Temperature measurement; Concentration photovoltaic (CPV); PV solar cell model; nonuniform illumination; nonuniform temperature;
Journal_Title :
Photovoltaics, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2358080