Power performance and thermal operation of organic photovoltaic modules in real operating conditions

Abstract

Printed organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have moved beyond the research laboratory phase and have demonstrated their suitability to be upscaled for industrial manufacture. The improved efficiencies and increased lifetime testify the potential for this technology to compete with crystalline silicon-based technologies under some operating conditions. There are companies capable of producing large-area OPV modules for outdoor installation. Examples of solar cell production on an industrial scale for energy production have been shown in the last 5 years. In this work, we present the performance data of a large-area OPV module under operating conditions representative for real outdoor operation. This study focuses on the analysis of the thermal behavior of the module and shows how its performance can be affected by the temperatures it can reach outdoor under natural sunlight. A comparison of outdoor measurements with indoor data measured under simulated sunlight at several temperature-irradiance combinations is also presented. K E Y W O R D S

Comparing different geometries for photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid devices based on organics

“…First, it has been recently shown that organic solar cells can actually perform better at higher temperatures due to an increase in the temperature-activated charge transport and enhanced charge extraction, resulting in an improved fill factor and short circuit current. [21][22][23][24][25] Moreover, thermal conductivities of most organic materials, as well as plastic substrates and encapsulating materials, are very low (1 W m À1 K À1 or lower cf. ca.…”

Analyzing the outdoor degradation behavior of organic solar modules in North China

“…The high importance value of time underscores that PCE is particularly suitable for the database of degradation studies among other property indices. A non-linear model, based on the empirical equation, 50 was introduced to fit the relationship between PCE and aging time.where t refers to aging time and a , b , and c are unsolved parameters. The results and errors are shown in Fig.…”

“…For example, Giorgio et al investigated the stability of OSCs under operating conditions, analyzing how environmental factors such as temperature and radiation intensity affect the photovoltaic properties. 18 Studies on the stability of OSCs conducted under the ISOS standards focused on the decrease of PCE over time, divided into two phases: an initial rapid PCE decline known as the “burn-in” process, followed by a long-term degradation at much lower rates (less than 0.02% of the initial PCE per hour). 19 Table S1† summarizes several representative studies conducted according to ISOS standards.…”

Two-dimensional benzo[1,2-b : 4,5-b′]difurans as donor building blocks for the formation of novel donor–acceptor copolymers

“…This thermal data supports that these polymer materials are thermally stable well above the operating temperature threshold for organic photovoltaic devices. 32…”