Good modules for bad weather

Abstract

In this paper the different factors influencing the low light performance of solar cells and modules are analyzed and combined to simulate the low light performance of different solar module technologies. The parameters for the diverse technologies were extracted from module databases and the simulation was performed on the basis of high resolution weather data from a weather station in Lindenberg (Germany). The results show higher specific energy yields for all technologies compared to a standard c-Si module. A good performance under irradiances lower than 500W/m2 was observed for a-Si, CIS, CIGS and a textured c-Si module. For another low light definition (share of diffuse radiation > 50%) just the a-Si technology is giving a better performance compared to its total annual yield performance. The simulated c-Si module with a pyramidal textured front side encapsulation showed a high increase of energy yield for orientations deviating from the typical orientation, when compared to a standard c-Si module.