Publication

The impact of silicon solar cell architecture and cell interconnection on energy yield in hot & sunny climates

Abstract

Extensive knowledge of the dependence of solar cell and module performance on temperature and irradiance is essential for their optimal application in the field. Here we study such dependencies in the most common high-efficiency silicon solar cell architectures, including so-called Aluminum back-surface-field (BSF), passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC), passivated emitter rear totally diffused (PERT), and silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. We compare measured temperature coefficients (TC) of the different electrical parameters with values collected from commercial module data sheets. While similar TC values of the open-circuit voltage and the short circuit current density are obtained for cells and modules of a given technology, we systematically find that the TC under maximum power-point (MPP) conditions is lower in the modules. We attribute this discrepancy to additional series resistance in the modules from solar cell interconnections. This detrimental effect can be reduced by using a cell design that exhibits a high characteristic load resistance (defined by its voltage-over-current ratio at MPP), such as the SHJ architecture. We calculate the energy yield for moderate and hot climate conditions for each cell architecture, taking into account ohmic cell-to-module losses caused by cell interconnections. Our calculations allow us to conclude that maximizing energy production in hot and sunny environments requires not only a high open-circuit voltage, but also a minimal series-to-load-resistance ratio.

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related concepts (32)
Solar cell
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical phenomenon. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual solar cell devices are often the electrical building blocks of photovoltaic modules, known colloquially as solar panels.
Organic solar cell
An organic solar cell (OSC) or plastic solar cell is a type of photovoltaic that uses organic electronics, a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules, for light absorption and charge transport to produce electricity from sunlight by the photovoltaic effect. Most organic photovoltaic cells are polymer solar cells. The molecules used in organic solar cells are solution-processable at high throughput and are cheap, resulting in low production costs to fabricate a large volume.
Solar-cell efficiency
Solar-cell efficiency refers to the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted via photovoltaics into electricity by the solar cell. The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system, in combination with latitude and climate, determines the annual energy output of the system. For example, a solar panel with 20% efficiency and an area of 1 m2 will produce 200 kWh/yr at Standard Test Conditions if exposed to the Standard Test Condition solar irradiance value of 1000 W/m2 for 2.
Show more
Related publications (38)

Charge Extraction and Recombination Dynamics of CdSe/CdTe Solar Cells Studied with Transient Photovoltage/Photocurrent Techniques

Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin, Iwan Zimmermann, Lei Chen

Significant advancements have been made in the development of high-performance cadmium telluride (CdTe)-based thin film solar cells. However, studies examining the transient excited-state charge dynamics, which determine the final steady-state device perfo ...
New York2023

Contact Design for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Luca Massimiliano Antognini

Today more than ever the world needs clean energy sources and thus a fast deployment and scaling up of the photovoltaic industry. In this context improving solar cell efficiency plays a major role. In order to achieve the maximum single junction efficiency ...
EPFL2022

Temperature‐dependent performance of silicon heterojunction solar cells with transition‐metal‐oxide‐based selective contacts

Mathieu Gérard Boccard, Julie Amandine Dreon

The temperature coefficient (TC) is an essential figure of merit to accurately evaluate solar cell performance at various operating temperatures and hence enabling the comparison between different cell technologies. Recently, solar cells that use passivati ...
2021
Show more
Related MOOCs (6)
SES Swiss-Energyscope
La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz
Electrical Engineering I
Découvrez les circuits électriques linéaires. Apprenez à les maîtriser et à les résoudre, dans un premier temps en régime continu puis en régime alternatif.
Electrical Engineering I
Découvrez les circuits électriques linéaires. Apprenez à les maîtriser et à les résoudre, dans un premier temps en régime continu puis en régime alternatif.
Show more

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.