Assessment of photovoltaic module temperature estimation for four years with four different software

Abstract

The software used today, on the estimation of module temperature of photovoltaic systems, seem very important to be analyzed. These estimates are crucial in future techno-economic and environmentally friendly analyses of the systems to reach better achievements for future generations. This is very important to reach lifetime analyses of long-term feasibility to find out payback time and the levelized cost of energy. The present work is based on this issue, to test the module temperature estimation formulas used by four commonly used software models, and to determine the most suitable software for temperature analyses of five different photovoltaic modules in Middle Anatolia. Outdoor truthful long-term testing is the main realistic approach to reach fundamental contemplations. After an introductory basic knowledge, the main materials and methods are discussed to enlighten the analysis. The main methodology is given and further prospects are enlightened. Four well-known software are analyzed using four years of outdoor testing of five different photovoltaic modules. Measured ambient temperature and solar irradiance are used in the categorization of the software estimation performances. PV*SOL appears to be superior at low irradiance and ambient temperature, whereas Helioscope appears to be superior overall.