Thermal Modelling to Analyze the Effect of Cell Temperature on PV Modules

Energy Efficiency

Florian ROMARY, Adelphe CALDEIRA, Sbastien JACQUES, Ambroise SCHELLMANNS,
Power Microelectronics Laboratory (LMP), Tours University, France
16, rue Pierre et Marie Curie BP 7155 37071 Tours Cedex 2 France
Tel.: 33 / (0) 2.47.36.13.01
Fax: 33 / (0) 2.47.36.13.11
E-mail: Ilorian.romaryuniv-tours.Ir

Keywords

'Photovoltaic (PV), 'Thermal modelling, 'Cell temperature, 'PV modules, 'Energy eIIiciency.

Abstract

In this paper, a one-dimensional thermal model used to determine the cell temperature oI a photovoltaic (PV)
module is proposed. This model that takes into account wind velocity could be helpIul to better calculate the
eIIiciency oI a PV module. Two calibration methods and several experimental results are given. These
measurements perIormed in real operating conditions were done on a single Iree-mounted PV module. Both
oI modelling approaches are presented to provide values oI heat transIer coeIIicients that could be inserted
into an external PV simulation tool.

1. Introduction

Operating cell temperature (T
cell
) is an important Iactor relating to energy conversion eIIiciency oI PV
modules. According to a single diode equivalent model |1|, |2|, |3|, |4|, the loss magnitude order is around
1 W/C Ior a module subjected to irradiance intensity equal to 800 W/m. Some PV simulators, such as
PVsyst, estimate the cell temperature Irom coeIIicients oI variation that could modiIy the PV modules
behaviour: irradiation intensity (G), ambient temperature (T
a
), and wind velocity (w). Nevertheless, this last
parameter is oIten neglected because oI the lack oI data |5|. A constant value oI the heat transIer coeIIicient
can usually be suIIicient Ior low-cost installations. On the other hand, the wind velocity has to be taken into
account Ior large scale PV systems (~100 kWc), especially Ior 'Iree-mounted PV plants. II that is the case,
the modules are exposed to convective heat transIer on both sides. Thus, the main challenge is here to build a
more accurate thermal model to better calculate energy conversion eIIiciency.
In this paper, a thermal model oI a PV module mounted in a rigid Irame is proposed. This model takes into
consideration external conditions, especially wind velocity. Some experimental measurements oI the heat
transIer coeIIicients were perIormed to calibrate the model. These data could also be part oI another well-
used global modelling method to give numerical values which can be inserted into a commercial tool such as
PVsyst.

2. One-dimensional thermal model for single-glass-covered modules

At the present time, PV glass-covered modules mounted in a rigid Irame are well-used Ior large scale PV
plants (~ 100 kWc) because oI their good perIormance-cost ratio. These modules are usually composed oI
monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon. EVA (ethylene-vinyl-acetate) is the most oIten used material Ior
the module encapsulation. The Iront-side oI the module is protected by a tempered and textured glass
thickness. Poly-Vinyl Fluoride (PVF) Iilms, and particularly White Tedlar

, have been viewed as the

industry leader Ior providing durable, weather-resistant back-sheets Ior photovoltaic modules Ior over 25
years.

All these materials are thermally insulating, the silicon excepted. Each layer constitutes a conductive thermal
resistance (R

) which can be analytically calculated (see (1)).

S
e
R

: conductive resistance |K.W

-1
|
e: layer thickness |m|
: thermal conductivity |W.m
-1
.K
-1
|
S: module area |m|
(1)

Table I gives the typical thickness and thermal conductivity values Ior each material that composed a single-
glass-covered PV module.

Layer Thickness, e |mm| Thermal conductivity, |W.m
-1
.K
-1
|
Glass 3.0 0.98
EVA 0.5 0.23
Si 0.2 148
Tedlar

0.15 0.36
Table I: Typical thickness and thermal conducivity values (experimental measurements) Ior encapsulating
materials |6|

For all sides oI the PV module, the conductive resistance (R

) leads to a temperature mismatch (T

cell
T
wall
)
between the module wall and the cell which cannot be neglected Ior accurate calculations (about 1.5 C Ior a
500 W heat Ilow). Convective heat transIer on the Iront and back sides oI the module constitutes an
additional thermal resistance (R

), between two and ten times higher than the conductive resistance (R

)
according to the air-Ilow Ieatures.
The total thickness oI the module (the rigid Irame excepted) is close to 5 mm, that is to say less than 0.5 oI
its characteristic dimension. As a consequence, a one-dimensional thermal model is well-appropriate in this
study (see Fig. 1 (b)). The Iront-side and back-side oI the PV module have approximately the same thermal
resistance values regarding the conductive (R

) and convective (R
h
) heat transIer parts. The wall temperature
(T
wall
) is an average value measured between the two Iaces oI the PV module. Since Silicon is thermally
conductive, the cell temperature (T
cell
) is supposed to be homogeneous in PV cells.



Tempered and textured glass EVA EVA
Tedlar

Si
3 mm
0.5 mm 0.2 mm 0.5 mm 0.15 mm
Air-Ilow Air-Ilow
(a)

Fig. 1: (a) Constitution oI a PV glass module mounted in a rigid Irame (b) Equivalent one-
dimensional thermal model

The total thermal resistance is at Iirst composed oI a constant value (R

) that depends only on the module

characteristics. This Iirst resistance is responsible Ior the temperature mismatch between the module wall
and cells (see (2)). The second part, deIined using (3), is the result oI a variable value (R
h
) depending on the
air-Ilow mode. Then, the global temperature mismatch (T
cell
- T
a
) can be divided into two diIIerent parts
using (3), where the h-parameter is the convective heat transIer coeIIicient between the module wall and the
air-Ilow |W.m
-2
.K
-1
|.

=

R T T
wall cell

T
cell
: cell temperature |K|
T
wall
: wall temperature |K|
R

: thermal resistance regarding the conductive heat transIer part |K.W

-1
|
: heat Ilow |W|
(2)
S h
R T T
h a wall

= =
T
a
: ambient temperature |K|
R
h
: thermal resistance regarding the convective heat transIer part |K.W
-1
|
h: heat transIer coeIIicient |W.m
-2
.K
-1
|
S: area oI the module |m
2
|
(3)

The heat transIer coeIIicient between a rigid plate and an incident air-Ilow can be Iound in literature.
However, regarding a model calibration, it could be better to use experimental measurements oI the h-
parameter. Then, the global mismatch between the cell and ambient temperatures is given by (4).

+ = + =

)
S . h
1
R ( ) R R ( T T
h a cell

(4)


3. Cell temperature evaluation methods

3.1. Global heat balance approach

A well-used simple and reliable way to calculate the cell temperature is to perIorm a complete global energy
balance on the PV module, by assuming a Iixed value oI the optical absorption coeIIicient () oI the module
(see (5)).

) 1 ( G ) T T ( H
inc a cell
=
H: global heat transIer coeIIicient |W.m
-2
.K
-1
|
: optical absorption coeIIicient
: energy eIIiciency oI the module
G
inc
: incident irradiance on the module |W.m
-2
|
(5)
h
R

R
h
R
Si
Twall - Ta Tcell Twall Tcell Twall Twall - Ta
Heat Ilow () Heat Ilow ()
(b)
For instance, this approach is used in the PVsyst tool with 0.9 |3|. A Iixed value oI the H-parameter can
be used, but it is also possible to include dependence with wind velocity (w).

It is important to remind that the H-parameter should not be conIused with the classical convective heat
transIer coeIIicient (h) (see (3)). Indeed, we can notice that the right part and the leIt part oI (5) are not
related to the same exchange surIace. The G
inc
-parameter is only related to one Iace whereas the H-parameter
is related to both Iront and back Iaces. As a consequence, the numerical values oI the H-parameter are around
two times higher than the h-parameter values.


3.2. Comparative method using the NOCT conditions

Normal Operating Cell Temperature (NOCT) data given by PV modules manuIacturers could be helpIul to
calibrate thermal models. In these conditions, the cell temperature within an open-rack mounted (45 Irom
horizontal) module is deIined in the Iollowing conditions: G
inc
800 W.m
-2
, T
a
20 C, and a Iront-incident
horizontal air-Ilow equal to 1 m.s
-1
|7|. A heat balance in open-circuit conditions can be written Ior both
NOCT and operating conditions (see (6)).

800
G
) 20 NOCT ( T T
inc
a cell
+ =
(6)

Finally, (6) helps to calibrate the global heat balance approach using a single experimental result Iound in the
module data sheet. However, this approach does not take into account the wind velocity (w).

To include a wind-dependent term, we can write (4) Ior both NOCT and operating conditions. By dividing
the resulting equation with (4), we obtain (7). Finally, it is the equivalent oI (6) showing explicit thermal
resistance values.

800
G
h / 1 S R
h / 1 S R
20 NOCT
T T
inc
NOCT
a cell

+
+
=

h
NOCT
: heat transIer coeIIicient under the NOCT conditions |W.m
-2
.K
-1
|
(7)

Then, the h

and h
NOCT
-parameters are calculated by an assumed relationship h(w) to obtain (8).

) 1 ( h / 1 S R
) w ( h / 1 S R
800
G
) 20 NOCT ( T T
inc
a cell
+
+
+ =

(8)


3.3. Comparison of the two approaches

The physical content oI the two approaches described previously are the same and lead to close results in
open circuit.
However, the 1D model (see (8)) is able to take into consideration the inIluence oI the conductive resistance
to analyze separately the evolution oI the heat transIer coeIIicient (h) with external conditions. To isolate the
conductive and the convective parts oI the thermal resistance, it should be possible to obtain more accurate
laws Ior h(w), which is the main goal oI this paper.


4. Model calibration by real operating condition measurements

4.1. Test bench description

Several measurements were done on a single monocrystalline PV module which is typically encapsulated by
the way (single-glass, EVA, Tedlar

) described previously. Table II gives some technical datasheet

inIormation oI the module reIerence, as well as speciIic records given by the manuIacturer.


Datasheet
Specific module
records
ManuIacturer Schco
Model MPE 175 MS 05
Type Monocrystalline
Power tolerance 5 / -0
Nominal power* 175 180.03
Nominal tension at MPP |V|* 36 36.18
Nominal current at MPP |A|* 4.86 4.975
Open-circuit tension, U
oc
|V|* 44.8 44.54
Short-circuit current, I
sc
|A|* 5.17 5.374
Temperature coeIIicient Ior U
oc
-0.38/C
Temperature coeIIicient Ior I
sc
0.04/C
Number oI cells 72
Dimensions 1580 mm 808 mm
(S 1.277 m)
NOCT |C| 45 ( 3)
* Jalues for Stanaara Test Conaitions (G1000W/m, T
cell
25C, AM1.5), MPP. Max Power Point
Table II: Technical speciIications oI the PV module (Schco MPE175 MS05)

The module is settled on a Ilat rooI, centered in a Iree zone around 8 m in diameter. So, the incident air-Ilow
is supposed to be constant all around the module. To reproduce the same conditions as those obtained Ior a
ground-implanted solar Iield, the module is tilted by the optimal angle oI 35, at azimuth 0, maintained at
0.6 m Irom the ground by a metal support. The module is exposed to the air-Ilow on both Iaces.

A weather station (DAVIS Vantage Pro 2) is placed at 1 m on the side oI the module, to measure the wind
velocity and direction, and horizontal irradiance (G
hor
). The wind sensor is a 'Robinson anemometer, placed
halIway up the module to take into account the local boundary layer oI the Ilow (the wind speed
measurement is the eIIective incident wind speed).

The temperature measurements are done using seven T-type thermocouples linked to a data acquisition
system (DELPHIN Tech. Expert Key 100 L). Three thermocouples are Iixed on three diIIerent cells (Iront-
side oI the module) using some 3 cm adhesive patches. Three additional thermocouples are Iixed behind
them on the other side. The acquisition system is settled in a waterprooI box under the module and the last
thermocouple is suspended to measure the ambient temperature.

Fig. 2: schematic oI the test bench showing the temperature measurements

The incident irradiance (G
inc
) is determined using a calibration curve (see Fig. 3) Irom a series oI about 60
measurements randomly distributed throughout Iour weeks using a mobile pyranometer.

Ginc = 0,000948 Ghor
2
+ 0,431786 Ghor + 57,314285
R
2
= 0,993602
80
180
280
380
480
580
680
780
880
980
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Fig. 3: Experimental curve G
inc
I (G
hor
) with a second order polynomial regression


The thermal and meteorological data are grouped together by average values over 10 min intervals
(corresponding to the module thermal response duration to a typical thermal step). The Front-side and back-
side oI the wall temperature (T
Iront
and T
back
respectively) are both considered as a uniIorm value calculated
Irom the mean oI a 3-measurements. The main wind direction is deIined as the Ilow origin (a 'south Ilow
goes Irom south to north) and is discretized in steps oI 45 (N, NE, E, SE, S, etc.). The pitch oI wind speed
measurements is equal to 1 mph.



4.2. Experimental calibration for the global heat balance approach
pyranometer
Anemometer with
wind vane
Thermocouples (7)
1m
0.6m
G
hor
|W.m
-2
|
G
inc

|W.m
-2
|

It is necessary to estimate the more adequate value oI the H-parameter to calibrate the Iirst global model
proposed previously. This step could be done Ior a Iixed value oI the -parameter (see 3.1.), which is here
equal to 0.9. The reIerence value oI the cell temperature (T
cell
) is calculated Irom the average wall
temperature by (9) (with 0.9). It is important to notice that even iI the value oI the -parameter is not
accurate, the error on T
cell
is assumed to be lower than the global inaccuracies oI measurements.

S G 9 . 0 R
2
1
) T T (
2
1
R T T
inc back Iront wall
*
cell
+ + = + =


T
cell
*: reIerence cell temperature |K|
T
wall
: average wall temperature |K|

R : global conductive resistance value Ior one side |K.W
-1
|
: heat Ilow |W|
T
Iront
: temperature oI the module Iront wall |K|
T
back
: temperature oI the module back wall |K|
G
inc
: incident irradiance on the module |W.m
-2
|
S: module area |m|
(9)

The conductive resistance

R is Iixed to an average value equal to 0.004 K.W

-1
with the help oI Table I.
Since the system is open circuit, the energy eIIiciency () is set to 0. Then, Ior a constant value oI the H-
parameter, the cell temperature (T
cell
) is calculated using (10).

H
G
T T
inc
a cell

+ = (10)

A numerical loop is done to choose the H value which better minimize the average normalized mismatch
* T
* T T
cell
cell cell

.

First, the whole procedure is done on the global measurements series which mixes all the values oI the w-
parameter to have the main value ( H) oI the H-parameter, which may be used as a constant value. Then, the
measurements are sorted by wind velocities and the whole procedure is re-done Ior each w-value, to extract
an experimental law oI H(w). The results are summarized in Table III.

w mph] H W.m
-2
.K
-1
]
0 27.7
1 30.5
2 32.4
3 33.4
Global
H 29.2
Table III: Experimental calibration oI the H-parameter Ior various wind speed values

It is important to notice that a w-value equal to 0 mph does not mean that there is no air-Ilow. It only means
that the average wind speed value is measured under 0.5 mph by a typical anemometer. It corresponds to the
natural air-Ilow which will always exist. Consequently, the H-value equal to 27.7 W.m
-2
.K
-1
has to be
considered as a minimum value Ior Iree-mounted PV modules. We can also notice that the experimental
global value is close to the value obtained using the NOCT conditions (see (5)), which is the deIault value oI
the PVsyst tool. Thus, these experimental results are coherent. Table IV shows three regression modes
applied to the values described previously.

Regression type Equation R
Linear, w in mph H(w) 27.7 2.092w 0.94
Linear, w in m.s
-1
H(w) 27.7 4.682w 0.94
Quadratic H(w) 27.7 3.25w - 0.45w ~1
Table IV: Regression laws Ior H(w)

The coeIIicients Ior the linear law can be directly inserted into the PVsyst tool (be careIul, these values are
done not Ior 10 m hight wind speed measurements but Ior ground-measured wind speeds). However, we can
notice that the linear law is clearly inappropriate according to these results. The inIluence oI the wind speed
on the H-value seems clearly to Iollow a quadratic law.

4.3. Experimental calibration for the proposed one-dimensional model

Calibrating the previously proposed one-dimensional model (see 2) consists in measuring values Ior the
convective heat transIer coeIIicient (h) in order to use (8) Ior the cell temperature calculation. In comparison
to the calibration method described previously, the experimental values oI the T
wall
-temperature are now
used. Herebelow the calibration procedure:
T
wall
is calculated as an average value oI T
Iront
and T
back

The average heat Ilow is calculated with (3)
This heat Ilow is used to deduce T
cell
Irom T
wall
using (2)
A numerical loop is done to choose the value oI the h-parameter which minimizes the average
normalized mismatch
* T
* T T
cell
cell cell

.

As same as the approach described previously, the calibration procedure is done Ior each wind speed value.
Results are given in Table V and Table VI.

w mph] h W.m
-2
.K
-1
]
0 14.5
1 16.2
2 17.5
3 18.3
Global
h 15.3
Table V: Experimental calibration oI the h-parameter Ior various wind speed values


Regression type Equation (w in mph) R
Linear h(w) 14.5 1.364w 0.967
Quadratic h(w) 14.5 1.939w - 0.225w 0.999
Table VI: Regression laws Ior h(w)
The h -value may be used as a constant value. Otherwise, the inIluence oI the wind speed on the h-value
Iollows a quadratic law.

Finally, a -angle can be deIined, which is equal to the absolute angle between the main Ilow direction and
the North-South direction, to study the impact oI the wind direction on the value oI the h-parameter. The
value oI the h-parameter is calibrated Ior each (w,) couple. The results are summarized in Table VII Ior
wind speeds equal to 0 and 1 mph (available data Ior stronger winds are insuIIicient).

] w 0 mph w 1 mph
0 h 15,2 W.m
-2
.K
-1
h 17,9 W.m
-2
.K
-1

45 h 14,8 W.m
-2
.K
-1
h 16,4 W.m
-2
.K
-1

90 h 14,1 W.m
-2
.K
-1
h 16,1 W.m
-2
.K
-1

Table VII: inIluence oI the wind main direction on the values oI the h-coeIIicient

The inIluence oI Ilow direction is clearly visible. According to these Iirst results, we can approximate this
dependence with (11), where h
Iront
is the h-value measured Ior a Iront wind (North wind or South wind in the
case oI a system at azimuth 0).

90
08 , 0 1 h h
Iront

(11)

5. Conclusion

In this paper, a one-dimensional thermal model oI a single-glass covered PV module is proposed. In
comparison to some methods currently used, this model takes into account a conductive resistance value.
Then, its calibration depends only on the convective heat transIer coeIIicient value. This coeIIicient is the
main parameter depending on the air-Ilow Ieatures. Thus, it should be a way to build a model that takes into
account the inIluence oI the air-Ilow characteristics on PV cell temperature. Four weeks oI real operating
condition measurements have shown that the inIluence oI wind speed on heat transIer coeIIicient values is
considerable. The wind speed inIluence on the convective coeIIicient seems to Iollow a quadratic law,
whereas actual PV tools use linear laws or constant values. Moreover, the main direction oI the air-Ilow
should also be taken into consideration to increase the precision oI the cell temperature calculation. These
tendencies have been corroborated by two diIIerent calibration procedures, which give coherent results.
The next step is to use the calibrated values on a additional series oI temperature measurements to have a
complete database. It could be interesting to reIine the calibration values and evaluate the robustness oI the
one-dimensional model with a direct measurement oI the cell temperature.

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