3SUN Innovation at the IEEE Conference on Photovoltaic
On the 50th edition of the specialist solar power event, our Innovability team presented the results of a study focusing on the partial shadowing effects of our pv modules installed on roofs or solar fields, to prevent faults and gain the most efficiency.
Between 11 and 16 June 2023, we participated in the 50th Edition of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists conference (PVSC50), which this year was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The event featured a diversified technical program, with 11 areas with multiple focuses, from material science to production, from photovoltaic technology reliability to political decisions. And also, the conference was also an occasion of networking between companies, with the aim of establishing new cooperations or strengthening existing partnerships.
Continuous innovation to improve panel performance
In particular, at the conference, we presented the results of a study – completed in partnership with PV Works, spin-off of the University of Delft – that helped us analyse some issues that may affect the performance of photovoltaic modules. Among these, the shadowing caused by some disturbance elements that may be found on house roofs (such as chimneys and antennas) and in large ground plants. Apart from affecting the module performance, with power and efficiency losses, shadowing may also lead to cell overheating, and to the consequent irreversible malfunction of the module. This is why bypass diodes - devices that prevent this issue - are installed on the back of the module.
To quantify the effectiveness of bypass diodes and of the electric layout of our future module, we carried out a series of simulations through the ‘PVMD Toolbox’ (Photovoltaic Materials and Devices) software, developed by PV Works.
To validate the results of the simulations we measured the electric characteristics of two types of modules, at Enel Green Power’s Innovation Lab of Passo Martino.One 3SUN module with 72 whole hetero-junction cells (HJT), and one module with 144 PERC half-cells with “Butterfly” layout.
The study presented at the conference, highlighted how the model developed is capable of faithfully simulating the electric behaviour of the modules, tested under different shadowing conditions, with an error below 3%. Another example of how innovation is always present at 3SUN, to create increasingly efficient and performing modules.