Abstract The purpose of this work is to show the impact of various thermal models used in predicting the module temperature on the power output of PV modules installed in the UAE. As it is known, the module temperature of PV affects its electrical power output. In this regard we developed a three-dimensional thermal model to predict the temperature of PV modules using finite element method (FEM). Our model was compared with some simple thermal models used by certain software packages and simple correlations in the literatures to predict the module temperature of PV. We used field data from our PV testing facility to validate both the thermal and electrical output of all models used in this work. From the results, all the thermal models were found to underestimate the module temperature of PV operating in the UAE. When the thermal models were used in the two- diode model with other parameters to predict the power output of the module, the results show that they all overestimate the power output with our model being the most accurate and the least biased among all the models considered.
[1]
Kashif Ishaque,et al.
Accurate MATLAB Simulink PV System Simulator Based on a Two-Diode Model
,
2011
.
[2]
Andrew Ragai Henry Rigit,et al.
Comparison of solar photovoltaic module temperature models
,
2011
.
[3]
C. Sah,et al.
Carrier Generation and Recombination in P-N Junctions and P-N Junction Characteristics
,
1957,
Proceedings of the IRE.
[4]
A. D. Jones,et al.
A thermal model for photovoltaic systems
,
2001
.
[5]
Rizauddin Ramli,et al.
Project-based learning for academically talented students at a math and science camp
,
2011
.
[6]
A. Q. Malik,et al.
Outdoor testing of single crystal silicon solar cells
,
2003
.
[7]
Mark W. Davis,et al.
Prediction of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Cell Temperatures
,
2001
.
[8]
Ole-Morten Midtgard,et al.
Two-Diode Model Revisited: Parameters Extraction from Semi-Log Plots of I-V Data
,
2010
.