Energy tracing of solar cells for spectral-beam-splitting photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) systems

Xinyu Pan, Xing Ju, Mengdi Yuan, Chao Xu and Xiaoze Du

Applied Energy, 2023, vol. 345, issue C, No S0306261923006840

Abstract: Spectral beam splitting (SBS) offers several benefits to improve photovoltaic thermal (PVT) performance. However, the detailed loss mechanism inside the solar cells related to varying spectrum remains unclear. This paper establishes an optical-electrical-thermal (OET) model to trace solar cells' detailed energy conversion and transport processes. The light-caused interactions within solar cells are comprehensively clarified. A heterojunction GaAs solar cell is validated and analyzed with an efficiency deviation of 0.73 %. The results of the OET analysis under the standard solar spectrum (AM 1.5G) show that seven energy losses of 337.27 W/m2 convert to heat, leading to the electricity declining to 23.17 % and operating temperature rising to 51.12 °C. Based on the proposed spectrum-loss correlation method, the OET model detaches energy and loss distributions related to the spectrum under operating conditions. A modified external quantum efficiency (EQE) is achieved that can accurately reflect the carrier collection ability of solar cells under operating voltages. With different spectrum windows, the solar cell presents varying thermodynamic characteristics. If removing the short wavelengths, the temperature-dependent coefficient of efficiency (Ceff) will be higher than −0.058 %/K (AM 1.5G), leading to the solar cell remaining less efficiency degradation with temperature increment for SBS PVT applications. Even if considering the electricity performance only, the solar cells can achieve better conversion efficiency with selective spectrum windows. This work offers a practical approach to microscopic energy investigation of solar cells to realize efficient optimization for SBS applications.

Keywords: Photovoltaic/thermal; Spectral splitting; Optical-electrical-thermal; Loss mechanism; External quantum efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121320

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