Energy performance of different silicon photovoltaic technologies under hot and harsh climate

This paper presents a performance comparison study performed on four photovoltaic modules. Three silicon technologies are concerned: one monocrystalline module, two polycrystalline modules and one module of tandem structure (amorphous/microcrystalline) also known as micromorph module. The modules I-V data and meteorological data have been measured during one year using an outdoor monitoring test facility named “IV bench”. This set up is installed at Ouagadougou (Latitude 12.45° North, Longitude 1.56° West) in Sudano Sahelian climate. The actual maximum power, the average performance ratios, the series resistances and the maximum power temperature coefficient of tested modules are determined from the outdoor measurements and used for comparison study. The power of all the modules has been stabilized in outdoor conditions before the performance analysis. The results show that the micromorph module presents the best performance on the selected site, with an average performance ratio of 92%. The monocrystalline and polycrystalline modules from the same manufacturer, have both an average performance ratio of 84%. The second polycrystalline module from another manufacturer, strangely presents the lowest average performance ratio (80%) due to both its large series resistance and the high maximum power temperature coefficient in operating conditions.