Title :
Thermal modeling of PV modules using computational simulation
Author :
Hemenway, Davis ; Sakurai, Haruaki ; Sampath, Walajabad ; Barth, Kurt
Author_Institution :
Direct Solar, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Abstract :
A comprehensive computer simulation of two thin-film CdTe PV module architectures has been created at Direct Solar using ANSYS Fluent software and experimentally validated using IR cameras. The developed model takes into account solar irradiation, surrounding radiation, convection, and photoelectric conversion to accurately portray the thermal performance of a working PV module. Using this type of analysis, the operating temperatures of future PV modules can be accurately predicted before installation.
Keywords :
finite element analysis; infrared imaging; power engineering computing; solar cells; sunlight; thin film devices; ANSYS Fluent software; Direct Solar; IR cameras; PV modules; comprehensive computer simulation; convection; photoelectric conversion; solar irradiation; surrounding radiation; thermal modeling; thin-film PV module architecture; Computational modeling; Force measurement; Indexes; Lamination; Temperature measurement; Thermal analysis; Wind speed; CFD; CdTe; model; simulation; thin film;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 2014 IEEE 40th
Conference_Location :
Denver, CO
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925166
