Innovative Methodology for Photovoltaic Power Estimation Based on Coupled Thermo-Electric Models

The performance of PhotoVoltaic (PV) modules is affected by their operating temperature, which can vary significantly among their cells, leading to lower power production. This activity presents an innovative methodology coupling a thermal and an electrical model to estimate PV power while considering the temperature mismatch among the cells of a PV module. In the thermal model, the temperature distribution in each PV cell is calculated using a semi-analytical model. Moreover, the effects of environmental conditions such as solar irradiance and ambient temperature on the temperature distribution of the PV module are investigated. The thermal model is coupled with an advanced electrical model based on an equivalent circuit (namely, the “single diode model”, described by five parameters) to evaluate the effects of temperature distribution on the electric performance of the module.