Modeling of photovoltaic module temperature using Faiman model: Sensitivity analysis for different climates

Abstract

The Faiman model is used to assess the PV module temperature at outdoor conditions for four different module technologies at five test sites with different climates. The model makes use of two parameters which are derived from measurements of the module temperature, plane of array irradiance, ambient temperature, and wind speed following recommendations of IEC standard. The impact of site and number of days used to find the parameters is studied. It is shown in a sensitivity analysis that the exact values of the parameters are not crucial for the accuracy of the modeled module temperature. Contour plots containing the best choice of parameter pairs are presented. Applying the parameter pair derived at one site for modeling the module temperature at a different site leads to bias errors below 3.5°C in 79 of considered cases and of 4.5°C in one of the 80 cases. Additionally, the performance of the Faiman model is compared with the performance of other module temperature models.