Spectral response of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells under real-use conditions

Abstract

The standard test conditions for photovoltaic modules are not capable of reproducing the environmental variations to which the modules are subjected under real operating conditions. The objective of this experimental work is to be an initial study on how the electric energy generation of photovoltaic cells varies according to the different wavelength ranges of the solar light spectrum under real operating conditions. Two modules were installed outdoors; color filters, which allow the passage of light at specific wavelengths, were installed on one of them. The amount of energy produced by the module with the filter was compared to the reference module, and the relative efficiency of each filter was defined. As a result, it was found that crystalline silicon modules do not respond uniformly to sunlight, being more sensitive to the red band (relative efficiency of 23.83%) and less sensitive to the green band (19.15%). The infrared contributes to a significant portion of energy production (relative efficiency of 13.56%), overcoming its negative effect of reducing energy generation capacity due to high photovoltaic cell temperature.