Temperature and wind speed impact on the efficiency of PV installations. Experience obtained from outdoor measurements in Greece

Abstract

Although efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) modules is usually specified under standard test conditions (STC), their operation under real field conditions is of great importance for obtaining accurate prediction of their efficiency and power output. The PV conversion process, on top of the instantaneous solar radiation, depends also on the modules' temperature. Module temperature is in turn influenced by climate conditions as well as by the technical characteristics of the PV panels. Taking into consideration the extended theoretical background in the field so far, the current study is focused on the investigation of the temperature variation effect on the operation of commercial PV applications based on in-situ measurements at varying weather conditions. Particularly, one year outdoor data for two existing commercial (m-Si) PV systems operated in South Greece, i.e. an unventilated building-integrated (81 kWp) one and an open rack mounted (150 kWp) one, were collected and evaluated. The examined PV systems were equipped with back surface temperature sensors in order to determine module and ambient temperatures, while real wind speed measurements were also obtained for assessing the dominant effect of local wind speed on the PVs' thermal loss mechanisms. According to the results obtained, the efficiency (or power) temperature coefficient has been found negative, taking absolute values between 0.30%/°C and 0.45%/°C, with the lower values corresponding to the ventilated free-standing frames.