Presenting a new model for the analysis of infrared thermography of photovoltaic modules in order to determine the contribution of each module in the output power of photovoltaic power plants

Talaei, Masoud; Rasuoli Jazi, Saeid

doi:10.22059/ees.2022.255021

Presenting a new model for the analysis of infrared thermography of photovoltaic modules in order to determine the contribution of each module in the output power of photovoltaic power plants

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Khomeinishahr Branch, Isfahan, Iran

10.22059/ees.2022.255021

Abstract

In this study, a computational method for determining the contribution of each module in the output power of a photovoltaic power plant is presented and the results of that are compared with actual values. This method is based on infrared thermography. In other words, in this study, we are trying to develop a new model for analyzing the photovoltaic module thermography images through field measurements on several photovoltaic systems in Isfahan region. Since it is very important to precisely calculate the module surface temperature in this method, practical methods are presented to calculate the temperature accurately. Validation of these methods have been done by performing specific experiments. The results of this study show that for modules in which difference between maximum and minimum temperature in STC conditions is less than 10 °C and therefore classified in terms of temperature pattern in the healthy group, the calculation of power contribution of each module through this method is very close to the actual value and have an error below 2.8%.

References

[1] Köntges, M. et al., Performance and reliability of photovoltaic systems, Subtask Review of Failures of Photovoltaic Modules. IEA International Energy Agency (2014), IEA-PVPS T13-01:2014.

[2] Hoyer, U. et al., Analysis of PV modules by electroluminescence and IR thermography. In: 24^th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (2009), pp. 3262 – 3266.

[3] Simon, M., L.Meyer, E., Detection and analysis of hot-spot formation in solar cells. Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells (2010) 94, 106-113.

[4] A.Tsanakas, J., Ha, L., Buerhop, C., Faults and infrared thermographic diagnosis in operating c-Si photovoltaic modules. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2016) 62, 695–709.

[5] Jaffery, Z. et al., Scheme for predictive fault diagnosis in photo-voltaic modules using thermal imaging. Infrared Physics & Technology (2017) 83, 182–187.

[6] Álvarez-Tey, G., Jiménez-Castañeda, R., Carpio, J., Analysis of the configuration and the location of thermographic equipment for the inspection in photovoltaic systems. Infrared Physics & Technology (2017) 87, 40–46.

[7] Takyi, G., Correlation of Infrared Thermal Imaging Results with Visual Inspection and Current-Voltage Data of PV Modules Installed in Kumasi, a Hot, Humid Region of Sub-Saharan Africa. Technologies (2017) 5(4), 67.

[8] A Tsanakas, J., Botsaris, P., An infrared thermographic approach as a hot-spot detection tool for photovoltaic modules using image histogram and line profile analysis. The International Journal of Condition Monitoring (2012) 2, number1.

[9] User’s manual FLIR Tolls/Tools+

[10] Moretón, R. et al., dealing in practice with hot spots. In: 29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, (2014.).

[11] Gupta, R. et al., Application of Infrared Thermography for Non-Destructive Inspection of Solar Photovoltaic Modules, journal of none destructive testing and evaluation, (2017) 25-32.

[12] Mingyao, Ma. et al., Rapid diagnosis of hot spot failure of crystalline silicon PV module based on I-V curve. Microelectronics Reliability (2019) 100-101:113402.

[13] Berardone, I., Lopez Garcia, J., Paggi, M., Analysis of electroluminescence and infrared thermal images of monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules after 20 years of outdoor use in a solar vehicle. Solar Energy (2018) 173, 478–486.

[14] Gallardo-Saavedra, S., Hernández-Callejo, L., Duque-Perez, O., Technological review of the instrumentation used in aerial thermographic inspection of photovoltaic plants. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2018) 93, 566–579.

[15] IEC Central Office, IEC62446-3, Photovoltaic (PV) systems – Requirements for testing, documentation and maintenance- Part 3: Photovoltaic modules and plants – Outdoor infrared thermography (2017).

[16] Giuseppina, C., Lo Brano, V., Moreci, E., Forecasting the Cell Temperature of PV Modules with an Adaptive System. International journal of photoenergy (2013)4.

[17]Köntges, M. et al., Review on Infrared and Electroluminescence Imaging for PV Field Applications. IEA International Energy Agency, IEA PVPS Task 13, Subtask 3.3 Report IEA-PVPS T13-10:2018 (2018).