SMU

MEDITERRANEAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

RE450 - Solar Energy systems

report

Lab1: Effect of temperature on photovoltaic parameters of a solar

cell

Youssef Kamoun

Tunis, 2019-2020
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction........................................................................................................4
2. Objectives...........................................................................................................4
3. Setup...................................................................................................................5
4. Measurements and Results................................................................................6
5. Questions & Discussion....................................................................................10
6. Conclusion.........................................................................................................12

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 Table of Figures

Figure 1: I-V curve................................................................................................6

Figure 2: Short Circuit Curve................................................................................6
Figure 3: Open Circuit Voltage Curve...................................................................7
Figure 4: Peak Power Curve.................................................................................7
Figure 5: Shunt Resistance Curve.........................................................................8
Figure 6: Series Resistance Curve.........................................................................8
Figure 7:
Figure 8:
Figure 9:

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 1. Introduction

During the past several years, solar energy has been considered a
sustainable source of energy that generate power to our house’s devices
and supply energy to the national grid. The advantages of using solar
energy are evident by being not only a clean source of energy, where it
causes no greenhouse gases emission using the PV panels ,but also it has
the ability to reduce the dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels .
In order to boost the extraction of solar energy, we need to understand the
behavior of the PV panels and how its characteristics can be influenced due
to numerous factors such as temperature and light intensity.

2. Objectives

In this Lab report, we will be studying the effect of light intensity on

different PV parameters, by changing the light intensity to the following
values:
50 mW/ cm2, 100 mW/ cm2, 150 mW/cm2, 200 mW/cm2.
The PV parameters that we will study are: short circuit current (Isc), open
circuit voltage (Voc), peak power (Pmax), series resistance (Rs), shunt
resistance (Rsh), fill factor (FF) and efficiency (η%), as a function the light
intensity. All the analysis is going to be performed using OriginPro software
to provide graphs and values for the results and discussion.

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 3. Setup

 Install the Monocrystalline Silicon Solar cell in the Solar Panel Test Bench
then install the Solar cell Test Bench into the Workstation. Adjust the
position of the solar panel.
 Once the Monocrystalline Silicon Solar cell is properly positioned in the
Solar cell Test Bench, turn off the fan but leave the lamp on.
 place the solar cell in front of the lamp and change the light intensity (50
mW/ cm2, 100 mW/ cm2, 150 mW/cm2, 200 mW/cm2).

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4.Measurements and Results

Figure 1: I-V Curve

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 Figure 2: Short Circuit Curve

Figure 3: Open Circuit Voltage

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 Figure 4: Peak Power Curve

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 Figure 5: Shunt Resistance Curve

Figure 6: Series Resistance Curve

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 Figure 7: Fill Factor Curve

Figure 8: Efficiency Curve

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 Figure 9: P-V Curve

5.Questions & Discussion

1- Compare each parameter of a PV module operating at different

temperatures with those measured at near room
temperature/AM1.5G.
As we can learn from the I-V curve, the open circuit voltage decreases
significantly as the temperature increases. Also, the short circuit is almost
constant with respect to temperature.
These results are supported in figures 3&2.

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 When we observe the P-V curve in Figure 9, the maximum
power provided by the PV Panel increases as the temperature increases at
the same time.

In addition to that, when we focus on the curve of the series resistance in

figure 6, we find that it remains constant with respect to temperature.
However, the shunt resistance in Figure 5 curve decreases with respect to
temperature from 30 ohm to 19 ohm in the range of 0 C to 50 C then it will
slightly increase from 19 ohm to 23 ohm in the range of 50 C to 80 C , then
it will decrease again.
According to figure 7, the fill factor indicates a decrease with the increase
of the temperature, as well as the efficiency which is decreasing as
temperature increases corresponding to figure 8.

1- How does the open-circuit voltage measured at a high temperature

vary with that measured at near room temperature?
The open circuit voltage decreases as the temperature increases.
When it is 15 C Voc =1.01 V
When it is 27 C Voc =1.12 V
When it is 50 C Voc =0.85 V
When it is 80 C Voc =0.75 V
When it is 115 C Voc =0.70 V

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 2- Using the open-circuit voltages measured at different temperatures,
calculate the percentage increase/decrease in PV module voltage per
degree Celsius?
There exists around 2.5 * 10 -3 V decrease per unit 1 C of temperature.

3- How does the short-circuit current Isc measured at a high temperature

vary with that measured at a low temperature.

The Short circuit current does not change significantly as the temperature
varies.
When it is 20 C Isc =-0.0275 A
When it is 50 C Isc =-0.0291 A
When it is 80 C Isc =-0.0342 A
When it is 100 C Isc =-0.0361 A
When it is 110 C Isc =-0.0370 A

4- Using the short-circuit currents measured at different temperatures,

calculate the percentage increase/decrease in PV module voltage per
degree Celsius?

There exists around 0.006 mA decrease per degree Celsius so the effect of
temperature on Isc is basically insignificant. The percentage is 0.5%.

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  Conclusion

In the light of this analysis which showed us the effect of temperature on different

PV parameters, changes in temperatures directly affects the Voc , where it

decreases significantly and doesn’t affect Isc, Concerning the efficiency, it

evidently

decreases as the temperature increases, which is why PV panels function at a

inferior temperature range and need continuous cooling . It is possible to conclude

that the optimization of the output is guaranteed while maintaining the surface

temperature constant close to a lower degree C.

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