Solar cell can be prevented from receiving sunlight by large obstructions like clouds and buildings, but smaller sources like dust and leaves can also have a similar impact. In order to get the most out of photovoltaic technology, which turns light into electricity and is a key part of the move to green energy, you need to know how the loss of incoming radiation affects power output.
Researchers from Shanghai Polytechnic University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Advanced Thermal Functional Materials, and Shanghai Solar Energy Research Center Co. Ltd. looked at how different types of shade affect the performance of single solar cells and two-cell systems connected in series and parallel. Their findings were published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy by AIP Publishing.
Author Huaqing Xie of Shanghai Polytechnic University and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Advanced Thermal Functional Materials stated that “in the real world, photovoltaic cells are occasionally shaded by obstacles, which significantly alters the amount of incoming light.” Power optimization is hard because of the effects of degradation, which also waste a lot of power.
When photovoltaic cells are connected in series, a single path is created along which electrons move from one cell to the next. In contrast, parallel cells offer two lanes for electrons to move through before recombining. In the real world, networks of solar cells are linked in series and parallel to increase the amount of current and power they can produce.
The group discovered that the ratio of shade to sunlight was almost exactly matched by the decrease in output current of a single cell or two cells connected in parallel. However, excessive power loss and a temperature increase for two cells operating in series could lead to further output degradation. For instance, the current dropped by 57.6% when 29.6% of the series photovoltaic module was in the shade.
Xie said that our study shows that the way cells and modules are connected and how shadows fall on different module cells may all affect performance.
In the past, researchers have looked at how shade affects large photovoltaic modules, but they have mostly ignored single cells and simple systems.
According to Xie, shadows on a single cell in these complex systems may have a significant impact on the performance and dependability of the system. For solar panels to be made, it is important to study single cells or a simple arrangement of two cells connected to each other.
In the future, the authors want to study how and why microscopic interactions happen in photovoltaic cells that are in different shadows.
