Thermal behavior analysis of different solar PV modules via thermographic imaging

Abstract

The temperature of a photovoltaic (PV) system is a critical factor in the photovoltaic conversion process; hence, the practical performance of a PV system significantly depends on its temperature. Several different methods exist for the determination of PV module temperature. In this study, thermography was employed to investigate the thermal behavior of different solar PV modules under outdoor operating conditions. It was observed that the temperature difference across the area of a PV module could reach as high as 12.5-14.8 °C depending on the type of PV module. Hence, the trends for the lowest and highest temperature were not predictable. Glass-to-glass non-frame PV modules exhibited the highest temperature gradients compared to glass-to-Tedlar non-frame modules. The observed temperature gradients demonstrated that measuring the temperature at a single point on the module was not sufficient to accurately represent the temperature over the entirety of the PV module.