Review on up/down conversion materials for solar cell application
The present paper reviews the methods of photon up- and down conversion strategies for improving the efficiency of solar cells. Photons with a lower energy than the band gap will be lost in a normal solar cell. The principle of the up conversion technique is that two or more photons are converted into a photon with energy higher than the band gap energy. High energy photons will lose the energy above the band gap energy limit. Down conversion is a process where a high energy photon is converted into several lower energy photons with energies above the band gap. A description is given of the most common methods and materials for these conversions resulting in higher solar cell efficiencies.
Review of photovoltaic status in a European (EU) perspective
In the EU continent, a generation cost around 0.15€/kWh has been achieved [1]. Around the world, there is a mission to stimulate this green source of energy and it is believed that by 2030, PV will be able to deliver around 9 % of the world's electricity demands. According to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report [2], it is expected that PV will accomplish grid parity in at least 10% of the world by 2020. There was a significant 60 % annual growth in the grid connected PV systems in the span of 2004–2009 [3]. The present article will bring out the status & review of PV technology and the details of PV system standards as suggested by IEA. In the present paper, the main attention has b…
Outdoor Performance of 10 year Old a-Si and Poly-Si Modules in southern Norway conditions
The outdoor performance of 10 years modules has been measured in southern Norway conditions. For this study, Poly-Si and a-Si modules are selected and the measurements are carried out using a portable electronic load. The I–V characteristics and maximum power have been recorded for several modules of each technology. It is found that Poly-Si modules perform very well even after 10 years of span whereas some of a-Si modules have visual degradation which causes significant power losses. The experimentally outdoor monitored values of P mp , V mp , short circuit current (I sc ), Open circuit voltage (V oc ) and efficiency for different modules are compared with manufacturer's values.
Outdoor performance of north-facing multicrystalline modules in Southern Norway
The present paper deals with reports on an outdoor performance evaluation of multicrystalline modules facing north in Southern Norway. The relevance of this study is mainly for building integrated systems where some of the facades are in a far from optimum position. The impact of shading on the photovoltaic modules' performance is also evaluated. A dedicated experimental set up has been created to study the PV modules performance under the above mentioned conditions. The results indicate significant power extraction from the PV modules even in the north facing direction. Effects of shadowing are also considered.