Outdoor Electrical Performance of Photovoltaic Mini‐Modules with Enhanced Broadband Omnidirectional Antireflective Nanostructured Glass

Abstract

Front glass structured with random subwavelength structures provides photovoltaic (PV) modules with a spectrally broadband omnidirectional antireflective property, enhancing also the incident angle modifier factor and boosting energy production in the field. However, long‐term outdoor monitoring allowing a monthly quantification of the electrical improvement of PV devices laminated with nanostructured glasses has been missing so far. Herein, two mini‐modules, one laminated with flat glass and the other laminated with nanostructured glass, are installed in a single‐axis solar tracker, and the solar irradiance and the short‐circuit current (Isc) are monitored for over 4 months, from September to December. This monitoring provides the quantification of the impact of a broad range of sunlight's angle of incidence (AOI) on the electrical enhancement of the device. The relative Isc improvement between two samples averaged for each month is calculated, ranging from 3.0% in September up to 4.0% in December. Besides, the influence of the solar AOI on the Isc improvement is investigated for sunny days, analyzing separately the Isc performance in the morning/afternoon hours, which corresponds to a normal incidence, and at noon, when the AOI is higher, obtaining more than 5.0% with AOI higher than 60°.