Improvements in world-wide intercomparison of PV module calibration
Abstract
The calibration of the electrical performance of seven photovoltaic (PV) modules was compared between four reference laboratories on three continents. The devices included two samples in standard and two in high-efficiency crystalline silicon technology, two CI(G)S and one CdTe module. The reference value for each PV module parameter was calculated from the average of the results of all four laboratories, weighted by the respective measurement uncertainties. All single results were then analysed with respect to this reference value using the En number approach. For the four modules in crystalline silicon technology, the results agreed in general within +/-0.5%, with all values within +/-1% and all En numbers well within [-1, 1], indicating further scope for reducing quoted measurement uncertainty. Regarding the three thin-film modules, deviations were on average roughly twice as large, i.e. in general from +/-1% to +/-2%. A number of inconsistent results were observable, although within the 5% that can be statistically expected on the basis of the En number approach. Most inconsistencies can be traced to the preconditioning procedure of one participant, although contribution of other factors cannot be ruled out. After removing these obvious inconsistent results, only two real outliers remained, representing less than 2% ofmore »
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1390397
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1399853
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5J00-70016
Journal ID: ISSN 0038-092X; S0038092X17306667; PII: S0038092X17306667
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Solar Energy
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Solar Energy Journal Volume: 155 Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0038-092X
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 14 SOLAR ENERGY; 47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION; photovoltaic; intercomparison; calibration; measurement uncertainty
Citation Formats
Salis, E., Pavanello, D., Field, M., Kräling, U., Neuberger, F., Kiefer, K., Osterwald, C., Rummel, S., Levi, D., Hishikawa, Y., Yamagoe, K., Ohshima, H., Yoshita, M., and Müllejans, H. Improvements in world-wide intercomparison of PV module calibration. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2017.07.081.
Salis, E., Pavanello, D., Field, M., Kräling, U., Neuberger, F., Kiefer, K., Osterwald, C., Rummel, S., Levi, D., Hishikawa, Y., Yamagoe, K., Ohshima, H., Yoshita, M., & Müllejans, H. Improvements in world-wide intercomparison of PV module calibration. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.07.081
Salis, E., Pavanello, D., Field, M., Kräling, U., Neuberger, F., Kiefer, K., Osterwald, C., Rummel, S., Levi, D., Hishikawa, Y., Yamagoe, K., Ohshima, H., Yoshita, M., and Müllejans, H. Sun .
"Improvements in world-wide intercomparison of PV module calibration". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.07.081.
@article{osti_1390397,
title = {Improvements in world-wide intercomparison of PV module calibration},
author = {Salis, E. and Pavanello, D. and Field, M. and Kräling, U. and Neuberger, F. and Kiefer, K. and Osterwald, C. and Rummel, S. and Levi, D. and Hishikawa, Y. and Yamagoe, K. and Ohshima, H. and Yoshita, M. and Müllejans, H.},
abstractNote = {The calibration of the electrical performance of seven photovoltaic (PV) modules was compared between four reference laboratories on three continents. The devices included two samples in standard and two in high-efficiency crystalline silicon technology, two CI(G)S and one CdTe module. The reference value for each PV module parameter was calculated from the average of the results of all four laboratories, weighted by the respective measurement uncertainties. All single results were then analysed with respect to this reference value using the En number approach. For the four modules in crystalline silicon technology, the results agreed in general within +/-0.5%, with all values within +/-1% and all En numbers well within [-1, 1], indicating further scope for reducing quoted measurement uncertainty. Regarding the three thin-film modules, deviations were on average roughly twice as large, i.e. in general from +/-1% to +/-2%. A number of inconsistent results were observable, although within the 5% that can be statistically expected on the basis of the En number approach. Most inconsistencies can be traced to the preconditioning procedure of one participant, although contribution of other factors cannot be ruled out. After removing these obvious inconsistent results, only two real outliers remained, representing less than 2% of the total number of measurands. The results presented show improved agreement for the calibration of PV modules with respect to previous international exercises. For thin-film PV modules, the preconditioning of the devices prior to calibration measurements is the most critical factor for obtaining consistent results, while the measurement processes seem consistent and repeatable.},
doi = {10.1016/j.solener.2017.07.081},
journal = {Solar Energy},
number = C,
volume = 155,
place = {United States},
year = {2017},
month = {10}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.07.081
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Works referencing / citing this record:
Electrical characterization intercomparison of high‐efficiency c‐Si modules within Asian and European laboratories
journal, May 2019
- Monokroussos, Christos; Salis, Elena; Etienne, Damien
- Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 27, Issue 7