Operating Temperature of Building Applied Photovoltaic Modules in Microclimate

Abstract

We developed a thermal model based on weather data collected to estimate the operating temperature of Building Applied Photovoltaic System (BAPV) installed in a microclimate at an elevation of 3,333 ft. The impact of vapor pressure along with irradiance, ambient temperature and wind speed on the BAPV operating temperature is presented. We observed that the module temperature tends to decrease as vapor pressure increases. Detailed study of module temperature nonuniformity in the BAPV array shows that the module temperature tends to rise towards the top of the modules.