Energy performance of window integrated photovoltaic system in actual operating condition

Abstract

Standard test condition (STC) is widely used to measure the efficiency of solar photovoltaic modules. But, the specified values of different factors of this standard are rarely found in the actual field. Some of the crucial factors of the said standard are module temperature, angle of incidence (AOI), amount of incident solar radiation, and type of spectrum. This research paper presents the energy generation of a photovoltaic module integrated double pane window system under the effect of the above factors. The type of the considered photovoltaic module is thin-film semi-transparent made of Cadmium Telluride (CdTe). For the calculation, the material characteristics were initially processed using different software. The validity of the simulated values was checked with experimental findings. In the study, except the incident spectrum, all other factors found to affect the output negatively. For example, because of higher operating cell temperature, the decreases in energy generation ranges between 2.9% and 6.3% among the months in the year. Further, with the influence of the investigated factors, the considered STPV system is found to generate maximum energy of 95.3 kWh/m2 per annum. This energy generation is 10.5% less than the energy calculated using the conversion efficiency found at STC. One of the outcomes of this analysis is the incorporation of the combined effects of four critical factors in the energy generation of photovoltaic systems. The results and the method of this work provide a useful reference to the scientific community for the development of an improved testing procedure of solar photovoltaic modules.