TY - GEN
T1 - Outdoor performance of CIGS modules at multiple temperatures over three years
AU - Qamar, Afshan
AU - Akbar, Rafia
AU - Sanghvi, Ankil
AU - Bednarzhevskiy, Andrey
AU - Liu, Liyuan
AU - Raj, Akash
AU - Tatapudi, Sai
AU - Metacarpa, David
AU - Sundaramoorthy, Rajalakshmi
AU - Tamizhmani, Govindasamy
N1 - Funding Information:
This research work was funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The authors would like to thank James Lloyd of College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), Albany, for his support and reviewing the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 SPIE.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The performance and degradation rate of photovoltaic (PV) modules primarily depend on the technology type, module design and field operating conditions. The metastability is a known phenomenon in the CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) module technology and it depends on the light exposure and operating temperature. This work aims to understand the metastability influence on the performance of CIGS modules exposed outdoor at three different operating temperatures at a fixed insolation over three years. Two types of CIGS modules from two different manufacturers have been investigated in this study. The three different temperatures were achieved by placing three CIGS modules per manufacturer at three different airgaps on a south facing mock rooftop tilted at 20°. The airgaps were 3", 1.5" and 0", and the 0" airgap module was thermally insulated to obtain a higher operating temperature. Throughout the test period over three years, all the modules were maintained at maximum power point using a setup containing optimizers and power resistors. The performance characterizations were carried out before and after exposure using both outdoor natural sunlight and indoor solar simulator. The influence of superstrate type and installation height on the soiling loss have also been investigated.
AB - The performance and degradation rate of photovoltaic (PV) modules primarily depend on the technology type, module design and field operating conditions. The metastability is a known phenomenon in the CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) module technology and it depends on the light exposure and operating temperature. This work aims to understand the metastability influence on the performance of CIGS modules exposed outdoor at three different operating temperatures at a fixed insolation over three years. Two types of CIGS modules from two different manufacturers have been investigated in this study. The three different temperatures were achieved by placing three CIGS modules per manufacturer at three different airgaps on a south facing mock rooftop tilted at 20°. The airgaps were 3", 1.5" and 0", and the 0" airgap module was thermally insulated to obtain a higher operating temperature. Throughout the test period over three years, all the modules were maintained at maximum power point using a setup containing optimizers and power resistors. The performance characterizations were carried out before and after exposure using both outdoor natural sunlight and indoor solar simulator. The influence of superstrate type and installation height on the soiling loss have also been investigated.
KW - CIGS
KW - Copper indium gallium diselenide
KW - Degradation
KW - Measurement uncertainty
KW - Soiling loss
KW - Temperature effect
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056811879&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85056811879&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1117/12.2326702
DO - 10.1117/12.2326702
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85056811879
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion and Reliability
A2 - Munday, Jeremy N.
A2 - Kempe, Michael D.
A2 - Bermel, Peter
PB - SPIE
T2 - New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion and Reliability 2018
Y2 - 19 August 2018 through 21 August 2018
ER -