Calculating the IV curve and power for a thin-film solar module

4^th International Conference and Exhibition on Materials Science & Engineering

September 14-16, 2015 Orlando, USA

Ankit Gupta

University of Lucknow, India

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Material Sci Eng

Abstract :

The aim of this thesis was to calculate the IV curve and power for a thin-film solar module. The purpose was to use the developed model for solar array dimensioning and reliable energy prediction. Several different methods were considered. The diode equation proved to work poorly for polycrystalline materials. Numerical modelling of the solid-state properties of the solar cell showed to be an unnecessary, complex and a very time-consuming method. Model building from regression analysis on a set of measurements was abandoned due to the lack of flexibility. The applied model was instead the so-called â��Sandiaâ�� model. The model scopes the spectral and optical response, the temperature dependence and the beam and diffuse irradiances influence. The model worked well for fluctuating operational conditions and can easily be modified to work for other solar cell material. The Sandia model was implemented in Mathcad�® together with a solar radiation program to calculate the energy input to the solar module. Own experiments were conducted to aid the model validation and to transform the model to work for a new solar cell. Measurements were taken of the short circuit current, the open circuit voltage and the entire IV curve. The available equipment limited the possible analysis. The model validation showed that the model has a tendency to over-predict the measured values. The systematic overprediction suggests that the model cannot explain all of the deterministic information in the solar cell. Comprehensive error analysis suggests an uncertainty of <10%.

Biography :

Email: ankitguptalu2011@gmail.com