Simulation of Diffuse Irradiance Impact on Energy Yield of Curved Photovoltaic Modules Using Climatic Datasets

Abstract

Curved photovoltaics (PVs) have gained attention for applications in well-designed vehicles and buildings. However, in these curved PV modules, current mismatch occurs between the many connected solar cells with different incident light angles, resulting in a reduced energy yield (EY) under outdoor conditions. In this article, the EY was calculated for various curved PV modules using the representative climatic datasets available in IEC 61853-4. The analysis was focused on evaluating the impact of isotropically distributed diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) on the current mismatch and resulting EY. Although the curved module exhibited a high EY similar to that of a flat module at low-latitude locations, such as the equatorial region, it exhibited a reduced EY at high-latitude locations. This difference in the EYs was observed because the north-facing part of the modules was shaded against the direct normal irradiance by the module itself. However, at high-latitude locations, the EY increased with DHI. This result indicates that although a simple series-connected module is sufficient at low latitudes, more elaborately designed curved PV modules, such as modules with independently operating component modules, are required at high latitudes and low-DHI locations. Our findings provide a guiding principle for optimizing the performance of curved PV modules at various locations.