Reducing Operating Temperature in Photovoltaic Modules

Silverman, Timothy J.; Deceglie, Michael G.; Subedi, Indra; Podraza, Nikolas J.; Slauch, Ian M.; Ferry, Vivian E.; Repins, Ingrid

doi:10.1109/jphotov.2017.2779842

Cited by 76 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In prior field measurements, single-junction GaAs cells exhibited 8% higher energy yield than Si cells in Phoenix, AZ in an open-rack configuration, though this will vary with location. 3 Any increases in energy production translate to decreases in LCOE; thus, III-Vs could have an 8% lower LCOE compared to monocrystalline Si in Phoenix. The relative installed cost of PERC cells compared to HVPE-deposited III-Vs is similar for commercial rooftop systems, so similar LCOE reductions would also occur in these markets.…”

Section: Cost Of Hvpe-grown Iii-v Photovoltaic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

III-V-Based Optoelectronics with Low-Cost Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

et al. 2018

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Silicon is the dominant semiconductor in many semiconductor device applications for a variety of reasons, including both performance and cost. III-V materials have improved performance compared to silicon, but currently they are relegated to applications in high-value or niche markets due to the absence of a low-cost, high-quality production technique. Here we present an advance in III-V materials synthesis using hydride vapor phase epitaxy that has the potential to lower III-V semiconductor deposition costs while maintaining the requisite optoelectronic material quality that enables III-V-based technologies to outperform Si. We demonstrate the impacts of this advance by addressing the use of III-Vs in terrestrial photovoltaics, a highly cost-constrained market.Silicon as a semiconductor technology is beginning to run into significant technical limits. The death of Moore's Law has been predicted for decades, but there is now clear evidence that transistor size limits have been reached, and improvements are only being realized through increases in complexity and cost. Si is also rapidly approaching the practical limit for solar conversion efficiency with current best performance sitting at 26.6% 1 . In contrast to Si, III-V materials such as GaAs and GaInP have some of the best electronic and optical properties of any semiconductor materials. III-Vs have higher electron mobilities than Si, enabling transistors operating at high frequencies for wireless communication applications, and direct bandgaps that lead to extremely efficient absorption and emission of light. These materials appear, among other places, in power amplifiers that enable transmitting and receiving capabilities in cell phones, as high-value space-based photovoltaic (PV) panels, and in light emitting diodes (LEDs) for general illumination applications with nitride-based III-V. III-V PV devices hold record conversion efficiencies for both single 2 and multi-junction 1 solar cell devices, as well as one-sun modules 1 . Unlike Si, they can be quite thin and flexible while maintaining high conversion efficiency; they can reject heat, permitting them to operate at lower temperatures in real world outdoor conditions 3 ; and they have lower temperature coefficients 4 , resulting in minimal performance degradation when their temperature does rise, which can reduce the requirements on heat sinking 3 and allow solar cells to be in intimate contact with rooftops. III-V materials are readily integrated in multijunction solar cell structures that increase efficiency far beyond single junction limits. These qualities allow III-V PV modules to produce more energy than a similarly power rated silicon PV module over the course of their lifetime. 3The development of III-V materials and devices historically focused on quality, efficiency, and performance, with less regard to the cost of the epitaxial growth, and III-Vs lacked a driving force like Si CMOS to methodically push manufacturing significantly costs lower. So, while the performance of III-V devices is unden...

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Section: Cost Of Hvpe-grown Iii-v Photovoltaic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

III-V-Based Optoelectronics with Low-Cost Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

et al. 2018

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“…A wide variety of approaches have been used to reduce PV module cell temperature. Two general strategies exist towards this end: 1) Decreasing waste heat generation and 2) Increasing waste heat rejection [8]. Within those categories, both passive and active techniques are employed.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Decreasing waste heat generation has long been a focus of solar research and Further methods of decreasing waste heat generation include advanced reflectance and radiation altering techniques. Optical modifications have the potential to decrease the panel temperature as much as 4 C using ideal sub-bandgap reflectors or infrared reflector films [8]. Increasing surface emissivity o↵ the front and rear surfaces to increase the radiative heat transfer from the panels has also been explored, though this has shown only minimal temperature reduction potential [8].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Optical modifications have the potential to decrease the panel temperature as much as 4 C using ideal sub-bandgap reflectors or infrared reflector films [8]. Increasing surface emissivity o↵ the front and rear surfaces to increase the radiative heat transfer from the panels has also been explored, though this has shown only minimal temperature reduction potential [8]. Radiative cooling also shows promise, wherein a layer is placed on the PV surface which is transparent over solar wavelengths but strongly emissive over thermal wavelengths, thus rejecting waste heat to outer space [9].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Further explorations into increasing waste heat rejection include modification of module thermal conductivity and phase change materials, and a summary of both active and passive e↵orts to enhance waste heat rejection was compiled by Hasanuzzaman et al [2] [8]. A review of the techniques to reduce operating temperature showed many active techniques, however these approaches must always be weighed against additional operations and maintenance costs.…”

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Infinite photovoltaic solar arrays: Considering flux of momentum and heat transfer

et al. 2020

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Large scale solar farms supply an increasing amount of the worlds electricity supply. However, in order to reach cost parity with fossil fuels, further reductions are necessary. Towards this end, photovoltaic (PV) panel cooling becomes increasingly important; high temperatures both decrease e ciency and panel lifetime. To better understand, characterize, and exploit the natural convective cooling of utility scale solar farms, a model solar farm was created. Using both thermal measurements and particle image velocimetry to characterize heat transfer and velocity fields, wind tunnel experiments were conducted using the model solar farm. Three parameters were examined for their e↵ect on heat transfer and the flow field: Reynolds number, inflow turbulence intensity (TI), and PV inclination angles. Results show that increasing inflow turbulence improved both upper and lower surface heat transfer by 7%, and lower surface increases on order of 100% were demonstrated in both the flow field and heat transfer with changes in angle inclination. Results suggest that significant farm level temperature reductions are possible.

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Tunable Photovoltaics: Adapting Solar Cell Technologies to Versatile Applications

Meddeb

Götz‐Köhler

Neugebohrn

et al. 2022

Advanced Energy Materials

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solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass, to enable a steady mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, which are causing the planetary climate change and global warming. [5][6][7] Additionally, due to the economic development and the worldwide urbanization, a continuous rise of the global energy consumption across all key sectors, that is, power, heating, industry, and transport is occurring. This is expressed by an increase in the annual global electricity demand by 4.5% in 2021 corresponding to additional 1000 TWh. [4] Hence, strict criteria for the selection of competitive and abundant energy alternatives are imposed, requiring high yield at affordable prices. [8] The share of total renewables power generation excluding hydropower exceeded 3000 TWh in 2020, corresponding to almost 12% of the global electricity generation. [3] Considering an effective synergy between various sustainable energy candidates, solar photovoltaics (PV) have demonstrated great capabilities that can satisfy the requirements in the pathway towards 100% renewable electricity. [9][10][11][12] Owing to the research and development activities over the last decades, the power conversion efficiencies of solar cells (SC) have skyrocketed with a prolonged operation lifetime (>15 years) and a drastic plummeting in manufacturing costs (global average module selling price below $0.25 per W). [6,[13][14][15] The rapid universal deployment of PV resulted in a contribution of about 3.4% in the worldwide electricity generation in 2020. [3] Presently, the global installed PV capacity is approaching 1 TW and it is envisioned to reach ≈10 TW by 2030 and 30 to 70 TW by 2050. [16] Interestingly, along with massive electricity production using conventional solar power plants and rooftop solar panels, ancillary concepts of PV offer new strategies for supplying modern systems in versatile applications. [17][18][19] Moreover, diverse functionalities beyond solar energy harvesting can be afforded by adaptive PV, including aesthetic appearance, visual comfort and thermal management. [17,18,20,21] The distributed nature and the ubiquitous accessibility of multifunctional PV products are substantial features of solar PV in contrast to other renewable energies. However, traditional SCs dominating the market impose intrinsic optoelectronic and thermomechanical limitations, that prohibit their multifunctional utilization. To overcome these drawbacks, novel functional materials and innovative device architecture Solar photovoltaics (PV) offer viable and sustainable solutions to satisfy the growing energy demand and to meet the pressing climate targets. The deployment of conventional PV technologies is one of the major contributors of the ongoing energy transition in electricity power sector. However, the diversity of PV paradigms can open different opportunities for supplying modern systems in a wide range of terrestrial, marine, and aerospace applications. Such ubiquitous and versatile applications necessitate the development of PV technologies with customized desig...

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Reducing Operating Temperature in Photovoltaic Modules

Cited by 76 publications

References 18 publications

III-V-Based Optoelectronics with Low-Cost Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

III-V-Based Optoelectronics with Low-Cost Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Infinite photovoltaic solar arrays: Considering flux of momentum and heat transfer

Tunable Photovoltaics: Adapting Solar Cell Technologies to Versatile Applications

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