Thermoelectrical Modeling of Wavelength Effects on Photovoltaic Module Performance—Part II: Parameterization

Intervals of the incident solar spectrum associated with long wavelengths do not contribute to electricity production due to their low energy levels. However, light with such wavelengths partially passes through the module layers, while the remainder is either reflected or absorbed as heat into them. Absorbed heat increases the solar module temperature and reduces its efficiency. In Part I, a thermoelectrical model is proposed in order to study the effects of the individual wavelengths on the photovoltaic (PV) module performance. In this paper, a method to characterize the model is proposed. A case study that shows the extraction and the derivation of all required parameters for the model is presented. The experiments are conducted on a lab-built monocrystalline silicon PV module. An optical model is presented to predict the optical properties of the module layers. It is found that characterizing the model using the proposed parameterization methodology leads to predicted results that are consistent with the experimental measurements.