Investigation of the Effect of Temperature Coefficients on Mono-Crystalline Silicon PV Module Installed in Kumasi, Ghana

摘要

The performance of solar PV modules is significantly affected by temperature. This paper focuses on the determination of the effect of temperature on a commercial mono-crystalline silicon PV module whose temperature coefficients were not provided by the manufacturer for installation in Kumasi, Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) ambient. In order to determine the effect of temperature on the output characteristics of the module, the temperature coefficients of current, voltage and power were determined. First of all, the module was cooled to a temperature between 10°C - 15°C in a cooling chamber, covered with cardboard paper before the outdoor electrical tests using Daystar I-V Curve tracer. The results show that as temperature increases, irradiance decreases significantly leading to a decrease in output power (Pmax). The open circuit voltage (Voc) also decreases, whilst short circuit current (Isc) increases slightly. The temperature coefficients were obtained from the slopes of the plots of temperature against Pmax, Isc and Voc. The slopes were used to determine how the respective output characteristics are affected as the module’s temperature rises. The temperature coefficients for power, voltage and current were obtained from the slopes of the graphs using the IVPC software and found to be 𕒴.313 W/°C, 𕒴.11 V/°C and 0.004 A/°C respectively. The results indicate that output power is a decreasing function of temperature (that is power decreases when temperature increases). This information will be useful to system developers, manufacturers and investors seeking to procure PV modules for installation in Kumasi, Ghana. The temperature coefficients of commercial PV modules could be independently verified using the technique employed in this study. Future work will focus on the long-term effect of temperature on the electrical performance characteristics.