Thermodynamic study of solar photovoltaic energy conversion: An overview

The thermodynamic basis of energy conversion systems is being utilized to carry out performance assessments and feasibility studies on photovoltaic (PV) systems in order to improve the design and efficiency of the system. The thermodynamic process of converting solar radiation directly into electrical energy, i.e. solar PV energy conversion, has been established, which includes electrical power generation, optical/thermal losses and electrical losses. In this paper, the thermodynamic modeling based on energy, endoreversible, entropy and exergy models of solar PV energy conversion system has been presented using the first and second law of thermodynamic, with an updated literature survey. The energetic and exergetic efficiencies of PV system have been evaluated and the reported theoretical upper limit efficiency of PV system using different thermodynamic models have been presented.