Field Experience With Performances Evaluation of a Single-Crystalline Photovoltaic Panel in an Underwater Environment

In this paper, the electrical and thermal performances of a single-crystalline submerged photovoltaic (PV) solar panel (SP2) is investigated. In particular, due to the presence of water, several phenomena occur such as the modification of solar-radiation spectrum and the reduction of the module operating temperature. These phenomena have different impacts on the global energy performance of the PV module, which depends on the environmental conditions, on the PV technology, and on the water depth. Energy performances of an SP2 module are measured using two different experimental setups in different environmental conditions, with an increase in power ranging from 10% to 15%.

[1]  M. A. Jamal,et al.  Solar energy at various depths below a water surface , 1990 .

[2]  Morteza Abdolzadeh,et al.  Improving the effectiveness of a photovoltaic water pumping system by spraying water over the front of photovoltaic cells , 2009 .

[3]  S. Krauter.  Increased electrical yield via water flow over the front of photovoltaic panels , 2004 .

[4]  M. A. Jamal,et al.  Solar spectrum at depth in water , 1991 .

[5]  J. D. Stachiw,et al.  Performance of Photovoltaic Cells in Undersea Environment , 1980 .

[6]  K. Emery,et al.  Temperature dependence of photovoltaic cells, modules and systems , 1996, Conference Record of the Twenty Fifth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1996.

[7]  Santiago Silvestre,et al.  Modelling Photovoltaic Systems Using PSpice®: Castaner/Modelling Photovoltaic Systems Using PSpice , 2006 .

[8]  M. A. Jamal,et al.  Spectral response and efficiency of a silicon solar cell below water surface , 1992 .

[9]  J. D. Stachiw.  Performance of photovoltaic cells in an undersea environment / J.D. Stachiw. , 1979 .

[10]  Shahrokh Farhangi,et al.  The effect of tilt angle, air pollution on performance of photovoltaic systems in Tehran , 2001 .

[11]  D. L. King,et al.  Temperature coefficients for PV modules and arrays: measurement methods, difficulties, and results , 1997, Conference Record of the Twenty Sixth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1997.

[12]  Giuseppe Marco Tina,et al.  Water Submerged Photovoltaic Plants , 2009 .

[13]  R. Hanitsch,et al.  Actual optical and thermal performance of PV-modules , 1995 .

[14]  Li Zhu,et al.  The performance of silicon solar cells operated in liquids , 2009 .

[15]  P. Grunow,et al.  OPTICAL SIMULATION TO ENHANCE PV MODULE ENCAPSULATION , 2006 .

[16]  A. D. Jones,et al.  A thermal model for photovoltaic systems , 2001 .

[17]  M. Rosa-Clot,et al.  Submerged photovoltaic solar panel: SP2 , 2010 .

[18]  M. A. Jamal,et al.  A step forward towards an ideal absorber for solar energy , 1991 .

[19]  Santiago Silvestre,et al.  Modelling photovoltaic system using PSpice , 2002 .