Comparative analysis of outdoor energy harvest of organic and silicon solar modules for applications in BIPV systems

Feroze S, Distler A, Forberich K, Ahmed Channa I, Doll B, Brabec C, Egelhaaf HJ (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Solar Energy Elsevier

Book Volume: 263

Article Number: 111894

DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.111894

Abstract

Organic photovoltaics (OPV) have the potential to fill niches that traditional silicon photovoltaics (Si-PV) have left open so far. Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is one key area where OPV modules can play a vital role due to their functional attributes of semitransparency, flexibility, and lightweight. However, the architectural constraints and physical layout of buildings often do not allow the installation of photovoltaic (PV) modules at their optimal angles. Herein, we report the outdoor energy harvest of commercial OPV, and monocrystalline silicon (m-Si) modules mounted at inclinations of 45° and 90°, using the ISOS-O2 protocol as a test standard. The semitransparent OPV modules incorporating a P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction absorbing layer were found to offer daily specific energy yields (YF) that are 10–15% higher than those of the m-Si modules at 45° inclination. For vertical (90°) mounting, the YF of the OPV modules is even 24–30% higher than that of their inorganic counterparts, thus making them ideally suited for façade integrated BIPV. Laboratory investigations reveal that the superior performance of OPV modules in the vertical position is mainly due to a strongly enhanced fill factor (FF) at reduced in-plane irradiance. At a 45° inclination, the positive temperature coefficient of the OPV modules also plays an important role during high-irradiance hours.

Authors with CRIS profile

Sarmad Feroze Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) (i-MEET) Andreas Distler Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) (i-MEET) Karen Forberich Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) (i-MEET) Christoph Brabec Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) (i-MEET) Hans-Joachim Egelhaaf Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) (i-MEET)

Involved external institutions

NED University of Engineering and Technology / انجنيئرڱ ۽ ٽيڪنالاجي جي جامعہ اين اي ڊي‎ PK Pakistan (PK) Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Feroze, S., Distler, A., Forberich, K., Ahmed Channa, I., Doll, B., Brabec, C., & Egelhaaf, H.-J. (2023). Comparative analysis of outdoor energy harvest of organic and silicon solar modules for applications in BIPV systems. Solar Energy, 263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.111894

MLA:

Feroze, Sarmad, et al. "Comparative analysis of outdoor energy harvest of organic and silicon solar modules for applications in BIPV systems." Solar Energy 263 (2023).

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