Energy Efficiency of Multi-Technology PV Modules under Real Outdoor Conditions—An Experimental Assessment in Ghardaïa, Algeria

Amor Fezzani, Idriss Hadj-Mahammed, Abdellah Kouzou, Layachi Zaghba, Said Drid, Messaouda Khennane, Ralph Kennel and Mohamed Abdelrahem
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Amor Fezzani: Unité de Recherche Appliquée en Energies Renouvelables (URAER), Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER), Ghardaia 47133, Algeria
Idriss Hadj-Mahammed: Unité de Recherche Appliquée en Energies Renouvelables (URAER), Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER), Ghardaia 47133, Algeria
Abdellah Kouzou: Laboratory of Applied Automation and Industrial Diagnostics (LAADI), Faculty of Science and Technology, Ziane Achour University, Djelfa 17000, Algeria
Layachi Zaghba: Unité de Recherche Appliquée en Energies Renouvelables (URAER), Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER), Ghardaia 47133, Algeria
Said Drid: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Batna 2, Batna 05000, Algeria
Messaouda Khennane: Unité de Recherche Appliquée en Energies Renouvelables (URAER), Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER), Ghardaia 47133, Algeria
Ralph Kennel: Institute for Electrical Drive Systems and Power Electronics, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 80333 Munich, Germany
Mohamed Abdelrahem: Institute for Electrical Drive Systems and Power Electronics, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 80333 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Energy efficiency and ratio performance are two key parameters for the analysis of the performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The present paper focusses on the assessment of the efficiency of four different photovoltaic module technologies based on energy efficiency and ratio performance. These PV modules were installed at the Applied Research Unit in Renewable Energy (URAER) in Algeria and were used to provide experimental data to help local and international economical actors with performance enhancement and optimal choice of different technologies subject to arid outdoor conditions. The modules studied in this paper are: two thin-film modules of copper indium selenide (CIS), hetero-junction with intrinsic thin-layer silicon (HIT) and two crystalline silicon modules (polycrystalline (poly-Si), monocrystalline (mono-Si)). These technologies were initially characterized using a DC regulator based on their measured I-V characteristics under the same outdoor climate conditions as the location where the monitoring of the electrical energy produced from each PV module was carried out. The DC regulator allows for extracting the maximum electrical power. At the same time, the measurements of the solar radiation and temperature were obtained from a pyranometer type Kipp & ZonenTM CMP21 and a Pt-100 temperature sensor (Kipp & Zonen, Delft, Netherlands). These measurements were performed from July 2020 to June 2021. In this work, the monthly average performance parameters such as energy efficiency are given and analyzed. The average efficiency of the modules over 12 months was evaluated at 4.74%, 7.65%, 9.13% and 10.27% for the HIT, CIS, mono-Si and poly-Si modules, respectively. The calculated percentage deviations in the efficiency of the modules were 8.49%, 18.88%, 19.74% and 23.57% for the HIT, CIS, mono-Si and poly-Si modules, respectively. The low variation in the efficiency of the HIT module can be attributed to the better operation of this module under arid outdoor conditions, which makes it a promising module for adaptation to the region concerned.

Keywords: multi-technology PV; module temperature; energy efficiency; efficiency percentage deviation; ratio performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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