A solar PV module consists of four strings of Silicon solar cells in parallel with each string having 20 cells in series. An individual cell when tested indoors at standard test conditions (i.e., under 1000 W/m2 solar irradiation and the cell maintained at 250 C) has the following performance:
- open circuit voltage of 0.6 V
- short-circuit current of 1.0 Amp
- Fill factor of 0.9
(a) What would be the maximum electrical power output (called peak rated power) of the PV module at standard test conditions?
(b) If the same PV module is installed outdoors when the outdoor temperature is 35 C, it is likely that the actual measured power output of the module, even under bright sunny conditions, would be less than the peak rated power. Give some reasons which could cause this to occur.
(c) Assume that the cell temperature is given by the equation on slides 58-61 of Module E4 and that the temperature coefficient for power is -0.5%. Calculate the maximum electrical power output of the PV under actual operating conditions of 800 W/m2 and ambient temperature of 35 C.