PV Module Surface Area Maximisation for Enhancing Performance
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Abstract
The amount of solar energy produced is directly proportional to the surface area of PV module exposed to solar irradiance. To increase the productivity of PV module, a number of techniques are proposed by curving the surface or protruding the PV module surface to maximise the surface area. The geometrical design analysis showed that, depending on the chosen surface curving method, the PV module can achieve a remarkable increase in surface area.
The system advisor model was used to assess a sample of solar cells with standard measurements of 6 by 6 inches that were organised in a zigzag pattern with different angles of curvation (10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, and 35°). Overall, the maximum power pump and annual AC energy performance increase by 1.4%, 4.2%, 6.8%, 10.8%, 14.9%, and 21.6%, respectively, over a one-year period of productivity. However, by applying the concept of solar PV module efficiency degradation due to tilting PV module at an angle by Mamun et al. (2022), for each 5° increase in tilt angle beyond the ideal 10°, the efficiency decreases by approximately 0.76%. In conclusion, the overall efficiency is greater than that of standard flat solar PV module, provided the curvation angle is within a reasonable range.
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