A New Approach to Indoor Characterization of PV Module Energy Yield Parameters

Temperature and solar irradiance are among the most relevant parameters that affect the energy yield of photovoltaic cells and modules. A rise in the module temperature leads to a significant decrease in the open circuit voltage and a small increase in the short circuit current. Here we use a new tool to determine temperature coefficients as well as to assess power rating of multi c-Si, mono c-Si, CdTe, and CIGS-based PV modules in controlled indoor conditions per IEC 60891 and IEC 61853-1. We use the tool to explore how nonuniformities in module temperature affect the accuracy of the temperature coefficients.