The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers (전기학회논문지)

The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers (대한전기학회)
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A Simulation of Photocurrent Loss by Reflectance of the Front Glass and EVA in the Photovoltaic Module

전면 유리와 EVA의 광 반사에 의한 PV모듈의 광전류 손실 예측 시뮬레이션

  • Lee, Sang-Hun (Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University) ;
  • Song, Hee-Eun (Solar Energy department, Korea Institute of Energy Research) ;
  • Kang, Gi-Hwan (Solar Energy department, Korea Institute of Energy Research) ;
  • Ahn, Hyung-Keun (Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University) ;
  • Han, Deuk-Young (Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University)
  • 이상훈 (건국대학교 전기공학과) ;
  • 송희은 (한국에너지기술연구원, 태양에너지 연구단) ;
  • 강기환 (한국에너지기술연구원, 태양에너지 연구단) ;
  • 안형근 (건국대학교 전기공학과) ;
  • 한득영 (건국대학교 전기공학과)
  • Received : 2012.10.24
  • Accepted : 2012.12.26
  • Published : 2013.01.01
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Abstract

The solar cell is a device to convert light energy into electric, which supplies power to the external load when exposed to the incident light. The photocurrent and voltage occurred in the device are significant factors to decide the output power of solar cells. The crystalline silicon solar cell module has photocurrent loss due to light reflections on the glass and EVA(Ethylene Vinyl Acetate). These photocurrent loss would be a hinderance for high-efficiency solar cell module. In this paper, the quantitative analysis for the photocurrent losses in the 300-1200 wavelength region was performed. The simulation method with MATLAB was used to analyze the reflection on a front glass and EVA layer. To investigate the intensity of light that reached solar cells in PV(Photovoltaic) module, the reflectance and transmittance of PV modules was calculated using the Fresnel equations. The simulated photocurrent in each wavelength was compared with the output of real solar cells and the manufactured PV module to evaluate the reliability of simulation. As a result of the simulation, We proved that the optical loss largely occurred in wavelengths between 300 and 400 nm.

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References

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