Investigation into the effects of the earth’s magnetic field on the conversion efficiency of solar cells

Martin Paul Ndeto, David Wafula Wekesa, Robert Kinyua and Francis Njoka

Renewable Energy, 2020, vol. 159, issue C, 184-194

Abstract: Solar PV technology is rarely used as a major source of power in most developing countries. This is partly attributable to the poor conversion efficiency which is less than 30% and high initial installation costs. This study investigates the variation of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) PV module parameters when subjected to a static magnetic field equivalent to the earth’s magnetic field. The magnitude of the magnetic field B is varied from 0 mT to 0.08 mT. An experimental probe on the variance of the pc-Si solar cell parameters when subjected to B showed that short circuit current (ISC) and current at maximum power point (IMPP) decreased noticeably while open circuit voltage (VOC) and voltage at maximum power point (VMPP) decreased slightly as a result of an increase in B. This led to a considerable decrease in the fill factor (FF) values and the maximum power (PMPP) which consequently led to a 0.21% decrease in the conversion efficiency (η) between the Equator, 0°, and the latitude 50° N/S. The findings revealed an increased module’s active area per kilo-watt of 0.08 m2/kW of electric power generated translating to installation cost increment of 1.31% due to decreased efficiency.

Keywords: Solar photovoltaics; Polycrystalline silicon; Magnetic field; Conversion efficiency; Maximum power point (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:159:y:2020:i:c:p:184-194

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.05.143

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