The Experimental Assessment of Different PV Cell Temperature Models Under The Actual Climatic Conditions for Cd-Te PV Modules

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) module technology is a fast-growing market in the last decades. Although there are many studies to increase the efficiency of the PV cells in research laborites in the literature, the actual efficiency of PV modules is related to the outdoor performance. PV cell temperature is one of the most important factors affecting the outdoor performance of PV modules. In this paper, the most accurate cell temperature model is determined for Cadmium-Telluride (Cd-Te) PV module technologies. For this purpose, fifteen cell temperature models are find out from the literature and they are formed in MATLAB-Simulink environment as a first step. Then, simultaneously recorded atmospheric data are applied as an input parameter to the cell temperature models, and the PV power values are calculated by each model. Besides, the generated power of a PV system consisting of Cd-Te arrays and installed outdoors is recorded experimentally. The calculated PV power and the generated PV power are compared. Hereby, the model that gives the most realistic result is determined. The determined model can be used in energy estimates for Cd-Te PV systems that will be installed in regions with known atmospheric data in the future.