EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Effects of frame shadow on the PV character of a photovoltaic/thermal system

Yunyun Wang, Gang Pei and Longcan Zhang

Applied Energy, 2014, vol. 130, issue C, 326-332

Abstract: Most photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems have an air layer between the glass cover and the cells to minimize heat loss and to improve overall efficiency. This feature is not found in typical PV systems. The frame border that supports the glass cover casts a shadow over the cells near the frame when sunlight is slanted. This design is common in PV/T systems. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of a frame shadow on PV/T systems. A mathematical model of a PV module in a PV/T system is established. An experimental research on a partly shaded single cell is then conducted. Based on the module model and the results of the experiment, a single cell model that simulates the performance of partly shaded cells is developed and integrated into an existing system model. The new model can be applied to simulate frame shadow in a PV/T system. Results show that the performance of a partly shaded single cell can be calculated as the cell operates below the average irradiation intensity of the shaded and unshaded parts. In the worst-case scenario, the frame shadow can cause a 39.3% decrease in photoelectric efficiency. Although the parallel circuit performs better than the series circuit in minimizing loss caused by the frame shadow, the latter has a higher total output.

Keywords: Photovoltaic; PV/T; Shading; Solar energy; Thermal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261914005595
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:130:y:2014:i:c:p:326-332

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.05.054

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu (repec@elsevier.com).

 
Page updated 2024-12-28
Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:130:y:2014:i:c:p:326-332