Reduction of Operating Temperatures of PV Modules using Thermally Conductive Backsheets: Site Dependence
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Jaewon Oh; Ashwini Pavgi; George Kelly; GovindaSamy TamizhMani
- Source
- 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC).
- Subject
- Materials science
Thermal conductivity
020209 energy
020208 electrical & electronic engineering
Thermal
Photovoltaic system
0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
02 engineering and technology
Temperature difference
Composite material
Electrical conductor
Durability
- Language
Photovoltaic (PV) packaging materials impact the module operating temperatures. This paper compares the thermal performance of thermally conductive backsheets (TCB) with the benchmark tedlar-polyester-tedlar (TPT) backsheet. In this work, the nine-cell modules with TCB_A and TCB_B typically operate at lower cell temperatures under desert climatic conditions with low wind speed whereas TCB_C and TCB_D modules operate at lower backsheet temperatures but at almost similar cell temperatures under temperate climatic conditions. The Nominal Operating Cell Temperature (NOCT) of modules with thermally conductive backsheet is lower than TPT with a temperature difference as high as 2 °C. All TCBs have higher thermal conductivity values as compared to TPT. TCBs can perform better, worse or equal compared to TPT depending on the dynamic site conditions. This paper presents only the thermal performance of backsheets and does not present any data on reliability and durability of these backsheets.