Electrothermal Modeling of Photovoltaic Modules for the Detection of Hot-Spots Caused by Soiling

Peter Winkel (), Jakob Smretschnig, Stefan Wilbert, Marc Röger, Florian Sutter, Niklas Blum, José Antonio Carballo, Aránzazu Fernandez, Maria del Carmen Alonso-García, Jesus Polo and Robert Pitz-Paal
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Peter Winkel: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, Calle Doctor Carracido 44, 04005 Almería, Spain
Jakob Smretschnig: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, Calle Doctor Carracido 44, 04005 Almería, Spain
Stefan Wilbert: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, Calle Doctor Carracido 44, 04005 Almería, Spain
Marc Röger: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, Calle Doctor Carracido 44, 04005 Almería, Spain
Florian Sutter: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, Calle Doctor Carracido 44, 04005 Almería, Spain
Niklas Blum: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Solar Research, Calle Doctor Carracido 44, 04005 Almería, Spain
José Antonio Carballo: Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Technológias, Plataforma Solar de Almería, Carretera de Senés km 4, 04200 Tabernas, Spain
Aránzazu Fernandez: Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Technológias, Plataforma Solar de Almería, Carretera de Senés km 4, 04200 Tabernas, Spain
Maria del Carmen Alonso-García: Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Technológias, Photovoltaic Solar Energy Unit, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Jesus Polo: Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Technológias, Photovoltaic Solar Energy Unit, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Robert Pitz-Paal: Chair of Solar Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Linder Höhe, 51147 Cologne, Germany

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-25

Abstract: Solar energy plays a major role in the transition to renewable energy. To ensure that large-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants operate at their full potential, their monitoring is essential. It is common practice to utilize drones equipped with infrared thermography (IRT) cameras to detect defects in modules, as the latter can lead to deviating thermal behavior. However, IRT images can also show temperature hot-spots caused by inhomogeneous soiling on the module’s surface. Hence, the method does not differentiate between defective and soiled modules, which may cause false identification and economic and resource loss when replacing soiled but intact modules. To avoid this, we propose to detect spatially inhomogeneous soiling losses and model temperature variations explained by soiling. The spatially resolved soiling information can be obtained, for example, using aerial images captured with ordinary RGB cameras during drone flights. This paper presents an electrothermal model that translates the spatially resolved soiling losses of PV modules into temperature maps. By comparing such temperature maps with IRT images, it can be determined whether the module is soiled or defective. The proposed solution consists of an electrical model and a thermal model which influence each other. The electrical model of Bishop is used which is based on the single-diode model and replicates the power output or consumption of each cell, whereas the thermal model calculates the individual cell temperatures. Both models consider the given soiling and weather conditions. The developed model is capable of calculating the module temperature for a variety of different weather conditions. Furthermore, the model is capable of predicting which soiling pattern can cause critical hot-spots.

Keywords: PV soiling; electrothermal modeling; PV monitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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