Modeling Spectrally-Selective Reflection for Thermal Management in Monofacial and Bifacial Modules

Parasitic absorption in photovoltaic modules is a major source of waste heat, which drives operating temperatures 20-30K above ambient. Spectrally-selective sub-bandgap reflection can reduce parasitic absorption, thereby improving module efficiency and power output. Here, we investigate the performance of 1-D spectrally-selective mirrors in monofacial Al BSF and PERC modules, and bifacial PERC modules. In monofacial modules, these mirrors offer >1.2% increase in energy yield compared to single-layer anti-reflection coatings, while cooling by over 1K on average. Mirrors reduced bifacial module parasitic absorption by up to 34 W/m2 out of 1240 W/m2 incident.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), University of Minnesota (UMN)

Ian M. Slauch and Michael G. Deceglie and Timothy J. Silverman and Vivian E. Ferry

bifacial,parasitic absorption,ray-tracing,spectrally-selective reflection,thermal management

2020

6

10.1109/PVSC45281.2020.9300678

9781728161150

01608371

Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference

1388-1390

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.

2020-June