Performance comparison of mono and polycrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic modules under tropical wet and dry climatic conditions in east-central India

Abstract

Abstract This work focuses on the performance comparison of monocrystalline and polycrystalline Si solar photovoltaic (SPV) modules under tropical wet and dry climatic conditions in east-central India (21.16° N 81.65° E, Raipur, Chhattisgarh). This study would help to select the SPV module for system installation in the east-central part of the country. For comparative analysis, we used performance ratio (PR) and efficiency as figures of merit. The plane-of-array (POA) irradiance was used to determine the efficiency of the modules. The decomposition and transposition models calculated the POA values from the measured global horizontal irradiance. The data were analysed systematically for 6 months in the non-rainy season, from October 2020 to March 2021. Special attention was given to solar irradiance, ambient temperature and module temperature—the parameters that affect the performance of PV modules. The month of October showed the highest variation in irradiance and temperature. The highest average module temperatures (51–52°C) were observed in October–November, while the lowest average module temperatures (34°C for mono-Si and 36°C for poly-Si) were observed in December. The highest value of average monthly POA irradiance (568 W/m2) was observed in February and the lowest (483 W/m2) in December. The results showed that the monocrystalline SPV module performed better than the polycrystalline module under all weather conditions. The maximum observed values of mono-Si and poly-Si panel PRs were 0.89 and 0.86, respectively, in December. Thermal losses were higher with higher module temperatures in October and November, and lower in December due to lower temperatures. The energy yield was calculated from the measured data and compared with PVSyst simulations.