Ultraviolet radiation impact on the efficiency of commercial crystalline silicon-based photovoltaics: a theoretical thermal-electrical study in realistic device architectures
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abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been identified as one of the most critical factors for the degradation of photovoltaics (PVs). Besides that, the UV spectral regime (0.28-0.4 m) is less efficient for silicon-based PVs owing to the excess of the energy of the incident UV photons relative to the semiconductors bandgap; thus, a large part of the UV photon energy is transformed into heat, increasing the PV temperature and decreasing its efficiency. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate in detail and evaluate the UV radiation impact on the temperature and efficiency of realistic photovoltaic modules. Here we perform this investigation for crystalline silicon-based photovoltaics that operate outdoors. The investigation is performed by employing a thermal-electrical modeling approach, which takes into account all the major intrinsic processes affected by the temperature variation in the photovoltaic devices. We show that effectively reflecting UV radiation, i.e., up to a cut-off wavelength, which depends on the environmental conditions, results in a reduction of the overall operating temperature and enhancement of the PV cells efficiency. Additionally, blocking the high energy UV photons prolongs the lifetime of the PV and its performance in the long term.
