Characterization of Cost-Saving Monofacial PERC Module under Field Conditions in South Korea

Abstract

The photovoltaic (PV) industry is constantly striving to increase module power output while decreasing costs. Importantly, the performance and reliability of cost-saving products should be evaluated before being launched into the PV market to avoid any unnecessary side effects. This study investigated the performance of a monofacial module employing a cost-saving bifacial cell installed at a carport in South Korea. The bifacial cell reduces costs, compared to monofacial cell, by using a lower quantity of aluminum paste on its rear; consequently, it has become a popular product in the PV industry. The monofacial module employing the bifacial cell showed an improved voltage temperature coefficient and low-light performance over monofacial cell-based module. Our field data highlight three conclusions from the bifacial cell-based module; it showed (1) different voltage temperature coefficients with better performance at lower temperatures, (2) better low-light performance owing to high series resistance, and (3) high current owing to its bifaciality. Notably, under high irradiance and temperature conditions, the bifacial cell performed worse than the monofacial cell. We concluded that this type of cell may perform well under northern European climatic conditions, though further investigation is required to optimize cell performance under various weather conditions.