Energy and free energy analyses of photovoltaic energy conversion

Author

Parrott, J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Univ. of Wales Coll. of Cardiff, UK

fYear

1990

fDate

21-25 May 1990

Firstpage

409

Abstract

A thermodynamic analysis of the standard solar cell is presented. By using internal energy and entropy continuity equations for the electrons and holes, a free-energy equation for the whole device which identifies the irreversible processes is obtained. Consideration of the interaction of the cell with the radiation field allows the entropy generation associated with this and hence the total heat transfer to the lattice vibrations, acting as a cold heat reservoir, to be calculated. The relation of photovoltaic energy conversion to the thermodynamic Carnot efficiency is explained

Keywords

free energy; heat transfer; solar cells; thermodynamic properties; cold heat reservoir; electrons; entropy continuity equations; free-energy equation; heat transfer; holes; internal energy equations; irreversible processes; lattice vibrations; photovoltaic energy conversion; radiation field; solar cell; thermodynamic Carnot efficiency; thermodynamic analysis; Charge carrier processes; Energy conversion; Entropy; Equations; Heat transfer; Lattices; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaic systems; Solar power generation; Thermodynamics;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1990., Conference Record of the Twenty First IEEE

Conference_Location

Kissimmee, FL

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1990.111657

Filename

111657