A Coupled Electrical and Thermal Model for Photovoltaic Modules

Abstract

A coupled electrical and thermal model for calculating the temperature of a photovoltaic (PV) module has been developed and implemented in a simulation tool. The input data for this model include both environmental parameters (ambient temperature, wind speed, wind direction, total irradiance, and relative humidity) and electrical variables (voltage and current). In particular, this paper discusses the impact of the electrical operating point on the PV module temperature. This information can be very useful, especially in optimizing hybrid PV/thermal system operation. Numerical and experimental results are presented.