Cluster analysis of commercial photovoltaic modules based on the electrical performance at standard test conditions

With the aim to identify the status, trends and differences from the electrical performance perspective of commercial available photovoltaic technologies, 1016 modules from different manufacturers and six leading solar technologies (m-Si, p-Si, a-Si, CIGS, CIS and CdTe) have been analyzed. The area of these devices and electrical information as power, short-circuit current, open-voltage circuit, maximum power point, efficiency and fill factor at standard test conditions were considered. With these variables, two-cluster analysis were performed with the aim of finding groups with similarities between the modules independently on the technology. Cluster results suggested that most part of modules could be divided in two main groups, one related to silicon (mono and poly), and other related to thin-film technology (a-Si, CIGS, CIS and CdTe). Because amorphous silicon presented a broad range of voltage and power, then different groups were needed to classify this technology. This cluster analysis can be used as a robust classification tool to identify patterns from the electrical point of view, allowing comparing other emerging solar technologies with respect to the most consolidated.