Technological watch

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of temperature and wind speed on the performance of five photovoltaic (PV) module technologies for different climatic zones of Pakistan. The PV module technologies selected were mono-crystalline silicon (MC); poly-crystalline silicon (PC); heterogeneous intrinsic thin-film (TFH); copper–indium–allium–selenide (TFC); and thin-film amorphous silicon (TFA). The module temperature and actual efficiency were calculated using measured data for one year. The actual efficiency of MC, PC, TFH, TFC, and TFA decreases by 3.4, 3.1, 2.2, 3.7, and 2.7%, respectively, considering the effect of temperature only. The actual efficiency of MC, PC, TFH, TFC, and TFA increases by 9.7, 9.0, 6.5, 9.5, and 7.0% considering the effect of both temperature and wind speed. The TFH module is the most efficient (20.76%) and TFC is the least efficient (16.79%) among the five materials. Under the effect of temperature, the actual efficiency of TFH is the least affected while the efficiency of TFC is the most affected. The actual efficiency of MC is the most affected and that of TFH is the least affected under the combined effect of wind speed and temperature. The performance ratio of TFC is the most affected and that of TFH is the least affected under the effect of temperature and the combined effect of temperature and wind speed. The performance of PV technology, under real outdoor conditions, does not remain the same due to environmental stresses (solar irradiance, ambient temperature, and wind speed). This study plays an important role in quantifying the long-term behavior of PV modules in the field, hence identifying specific technology for the PV industry in suitable climatic conditions.