A study on performance for TOPCon and PERC crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules

Different types of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules with the same power rating produce different amounts of electricity in the field. In this paper, the electrical performance of TOPCon and PERC crystalline silicon PV modules was measured indoors at varying temperature and irradiance. The results show that in the irradiance range of 200-1000 W/m<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup>, the PR of TOPCon PV modules increases with increasing irradiance, whereas the PR of PERC PV modules initially increase and then decreases with increasing irradiance. The difference in the trend of PR predicts the difference in energy generation between the two PV modules in the field. Next, the annual energy generation of the TOPCon and PERC PV modules was measured outdoors. It is found that over the course of a year, the monthly average specific energy yield of TOPCon modules is 2.92% higher than that of PERC modules. Finally, a model for the relationship between PV module efficiency and module series resistance is proposed using Lagrange's method of undetermined multipliers, the model reveals for the first time the reasons behind the difference in energy generation between the PV modules and the variation in module efficiency with irradiance. This study provides a foundation for the improvement of the manufacturing process of PV modules and the enhancement of their yield performance.