Comparative performance testing of photovoltaic modules in tropical climates of Indonesia

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the most significant types of the sustainable and renewable energy sources that have been used in Indonesia. Photovoltaic (PV) is known as the direct conversion of the sunlight to electricity energy with the used of solar cells. There are number of different types of solar PV modules, from an ever increasing range of manufacturers. Each of them claims that they are the best for one reason or another. This paper reports the study results of energy yield measurements of different PV module technologies performed at the outdoor testing facility of the Energy Technology Center (B2TE-BPPT) Kawasan Puspiptek Serpong-Indonesia from March 2014 through February 2015. The purposes of the study wereto evaluate and compare the performances of three different PV modules during a medium term outdoor exposure at the tropical climate of Indonesia. Normalized energy yields (Y), module efficiency (η), and performance ratio (PR) were calculated for each module, and the effect of module temperature and solar irradiance on these parameters was investigated. Monocrystalline PV module was better in terms of module efficiency and overall power production. Meanwhile micromorph silicon (uc-Si) showed the lowest module efficiency, but the more power production compared with polycrystalline PV module. Module efficiency and performance ratio showed a decreasing trend with increase of module temperature.