The effect of ambient temperature and solar panel’s surface temperature on output performance of solar power system

Abstract

The effect of ambient temperature and solar panel’s surface temperature on the output performance of a solar power system was studied. The solar panels rated 45Watts and 70Watts were placed separately in October and November on top of manual trackers located at (N04° 5´, E06° 54´), on the Eastern location of Ofrima complex in Abuja campus of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. For 45W solar panel, the maximum average power output of 17.24Watts was obtained when the temperature difference between the solar panel’s surface temperature and ambient temperature measured with digital thermometer was -0.67°C. Also, minimum average power output of 5.73Watts was obtained when the temperature difference between the solar panel’s surface temperature and ambient temperature was 1.44°C. A similar trend of results was obtained from 70W rated solar panel. The absorbance layer employed in the production of the solar panel is assumed to be responsible for the high temperatures retained on the solar panel’s surface when compared with the ambient temperatures. The results show that the lower the temperature difference between solar panel’s surface temperature and ambient temperature, the higher the open circuit voltage and consequently the higher the power output and vice versa. It is therefore concluded from this study that the ambient and solar panel’s surface temperatures have significant influence on the output power produced by solar power system.

Keywords: Temperature, Output Power, Solar Panel, Solar Tracker, Digital Thermometer