DocumentCode :
1765871
Title :
Investigation on Performance Decay on Photovoltaic Modules: Snail Trails and Cell Microcracks
Author :
Dolara, Alberto ; Leva, S. ; Manzolini, Giampaolo ; Ogliari, E.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Energy, Politec. di Milano, Milan, Italy
Volume :
4
Issue :
5
fYear :
2014
fDate :
Sept. 2014
Firstpage :
1204
Lastpage :
1211
Abstract :
Over the past few decades, the snail trail phenomenon has been known as a discoloration defect on photovoltaic (PV) modules. More recently, snail trails have also been correlated with cell microcracks in PV modules. Despite a serious concern about effects of this phenomenon on PV module performances, very few publications have dealt with this subject. The main purpose of this study is to compare the performances of polycrystalline silicon PV modules affected by the snail trail phenomenon with the reference module. The comparison was performed focusing on I-V and P-V characteristics, thermography analysis, and energy production. Measurements were carried out at the SolarTech Lab of Politecnico di Milano, Italy. The obtained results show that the snail trails may affect the polycrystalline silicon PV modules performances: Compared with reference PV, the maximum power production at standard conditions is reduced by about 40%. The energy production measured over 30 days was about 25% lower than expected.
Keywords :
infrared imaging; microcracks; solar cells; I-V characteristics; P-V characteristics; cell microcracks; discoloration defect; energy production; performance decay investigation; photovoltaic modules; polycrystalline silicon PV; snail trails; thermography analysis; Current measurement; Energy measurement; Photovoltaic systems; Standards; Temperature measurement; Voltage measurement; Final yield; PV system reliability; microcracks; photovoltaic (PV) modules; snail trail phenomena;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Photovoltaics, IEEE Journal of
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
2156-3381
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2330495
Filename :
6861441
Link To Document :
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