Influence Of Temperature Of Insulating Glass Photovoltaic Modules On The Electrical Performance

Insulating glass photovoltaic modules (IGPM) is one of the most important part of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) due to thermal insulation, soundproofing, good decoration and friendly to environment. This paper is mainly about the temperature influence of IGPM on the electrical performance. The results of experiments showed that the temperature of IGPM is affected by solar radiation, species and thickness of insulating glass, species of gas, thickness of gas layer, temperature of environment, speed of wind and so on. At the mean time, there are some relation between temperature of IGPM and electrical performance, such as open circuit voltage, output power, short-circuit current, voltage characteristics and conversion rate. The interrelation of heat, electricity, and light has been explored in the IGPM. In addition, the Fluent soft was used to simulate and verify the relation between temperature of solar cell and surface temperature of IGPM. Main results and conclusions were listed as followings:The temperature of IGPM is primarily affected by the solar irradiance, the ambient temperature and the wind speed. It increased with the higher intensity of solar radiation, higher ambient temperature or both. It reduced with the higher speed of wind speed. It almost not influenced by ambient humidity.The electrical properties and generating efficiency of IGPM is affected by the operating temperature. If there is low ambient temperature, the temperature of the module will has a certain degree of rise with the increasing of the solar irradiance. The short-circuit current of the module will increase and the open-circuit voltage has no significant decrease. The generating efficiency of the module will increase. If there is high ambient temperature, the temperature of the module (>45℃) will has a significant rise with the increasing of the solar irradiance. The short-circuit current of the module will increase and the open-circuit voltage has a significant decrease. The generating efficiency of the module will decrease. Therefore we should consider the negative effects of the high operating temperature to generating efficiency when the ambient temperature is high. The research of the electrical properties and generating efficiency of IGPM could be operated according to the standards of solar cells. It has special functional requirements and structural constraints because of its used in Building Integrated Photovoltaics. The temperature of the module and environmental factors should be considered.The software of FLUENT could be used in the thermiodynamic research of IGPM. The cell temperature of the module could be represented by the surface temperature approximately. The result of the simulation is similar with the experimental results.