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Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol.49, No.1, 1-6, 1997
Effective conversion efficiency enhancement of amorphous silicon modules by operation temperature elevation
To eliminate photo degradation, we have proposed the elevation of the operating temperature of amorphous silicon modules by thermal insulators (polystylene foam) attached to them. A solar cell which degraded 19% with ordinary accelerated test condition (AM 1.5, 1 kW/m(2), 48 degrees C, 550 h) degraded only 13% at 90 degrees C. The temperature coefficient of amorphous silicon solar cell is about 2/3 of that of crystalline silicon solar cells. A simple calculation predicts about 80% of the initial efficiency in actual operation. Modules whose initial efficiency is about 9.2% were field on 1 April 1996. These modules showed more than 8% effective efficiencies on 21 August 1996. The cell temperature elevation by thermal insulation depends not on the ambient temperature but on insolation and wind speed, and is about 8 degrees C on average and 40 degrees C at peak. Effective conversion enhancement by temperature elevation is about 1% of the conventional one, which can be larger in later observation.