Renewable Energy, Vol. 14, Nos. 1-4, pp.

149-155, 1998

~ Pergamon
© 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

P l h S0960-1481 (98) 0 0 0 6 1 - 5
Printed in Great Britain
0960-1481/98 $19.00+0.00

E F F E C T O F A M B I E N T T E M P E R A T U R E ON T H E D E M A N D E D
ENERGY OF SOLAR CELLS AT DIFFERENT INCLINATIONS

A.M.AL- SABOUNCHI

Solar Energy Research center, Jadiriyah , P.O. Box 13026, Baghdad-IRAQ

ABSTRACT
With increase of ambient temperatue there is a deficiency in electrical energy that solar cells supply than
their values under ideal conditions (25 °c -1000 w/m2), this sitiuation be of a high affection especially in
countries of a hot climate. In this work the cell temperature inside a solar panel is calculated depending on
values of ambient temperature , solar radiation and multi other parameters related to climate and solar
panel manufacturing. The ideal and actual energy that is supplied by a certain area of solar cells under ideal
and actual conditions is measured to determine the defficiency between the two cases, then a new formula
is applied to determine the exact substitutive area of solar cells that must be added to the initial area so as
the energy supplied by the cells under actual conditions is the same as that under ideal conditions.

A comparsion and evaluation of the results are made for multi inclinations according to the climatic data of
Baghdad city.Constants are derived for Baghdad city which can be applied in designing PV systems to get
values of actual energy supplied by solar cells at any temperature are exactly the same as that calculated
under ideal conditions at Tc=25 °c. © 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION
Temperature consideration is important when considering the use of solar cells for economical power
generation , where it is a key factor in the performance of solar cells for at least two reasons. First, the
power (and voltage) output of a solar cells decreases monotonically with increasing temperature at a rate
depending on the particular cell, but normally by a factor varying between 4000-6000 ppm/°c at 25
oc(Buresh,1983). Second , for single or poly crystrals, the life expectancy of a solar cell also decreases
with increasing temperatue . In areas of high level ambient temperature climate like Iraq the performance
of PV system are highly affected by ambient temperature increasing, which it sometimes in extreme
summer exceeds 50 °c, that will cause a rise in cell temperature , ( T c ) to about 70 "c or more ,depending
on the production specifications of the solar modules.

For example, a solar module type A E G P Q S / 4 0 / 0 shows a decreasing in Pmax of about 0.44% in p.u. of
ideal Pmax for each l°c above 25 °c ,then at cell temperature ( T c ) equal to 70 °c ,such solar module type
lose about 20% of the specified Pmax, which is eventually affecting the energy balance of PV systems.
Furthermore, recieved quantity of solar radiation is another parameter that affects the solar cell
temperature,because part of the incident radiation i~ transformed into heat within the semiconductor, that
heat is proportional to the value of recieved solar radiation, which is also affected by the inclined surfaces

149
150 A . M . AL-SABOUNCHI

Tilt factor
1.8

1.6

._.'%
1./. ~-X,,

1.2

0-8

0.6
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Months
• B=0 + 13=10 w B=20 n B=30 x B=40 0 B=50

Fig. 1. Tilt factors at different inclinations during the year

Since that recieved quantity of solar radiation varies with variations in surface inclinations, then
consequently, consideration of surface inclinations of solar modules is an important parameter in
determining cell temperature .In this w o r k , the effect of solar cells temperature rise is considered, where
the standard conditions of solar cells performance is assumed to be that at Tc=25 °c. A certain procedure
was placed to evaluate the exact areas of solar cells that might be added to the specific area under ideal
conditions, to substitute exactly the deficiency in energy due to cell temperature rise above 25 %.

TILT FACTOR CONSIDERATION

Consideration of surface inclinations of solar modules as one of the affecting parameters on the cell
temperature, is taken into account in this work through determining the tilt factors of the inclined surfaces
of PV modules. The average daily radiation on a tilted surface ,(IT),is expressed as:

Iv=R* H v . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1)
Where ' R-Tilt factor & Hw-Monthly daily average & t o t a l horizontal radiation.
According to Liu and Jordan formula, (R) can be determined according to (Lunde, 1980)as •

RbHTb (I+cosB) HTd +,,(1-cosB)f

R = "--'~'T + 2 HT 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
Where: R b -Direct beam elevation factor
HTb & HTa - Monthly daily average total horizontal beam & diffuse radiation.
B - Tilt angle in degree. - Ground reflectivity.

Note that ,values of HTd/H T are calculated according to (Riahi, 1987) as:
HTd/HT = 1.076 - 1282 * K r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
Where K T is the clearness index. Then, applying equation(2) on different inclination surfaces and for each
month yields results as indicated in figure (1).
 Effect o f ambient temperature on solar cells 151

SOLAR CELL TEMPERATURE CONSIDERATION

In this work the solar cell temperature (Tc) is expressed as a function o f the known ambient temperature
( T a ) , and the various heat transfer parameters (hc,hr,hf, and others) as well as solar flux (I), at the surface
o f the panel, the solar absortance(sa) and the infrared emissivity (C) o f the solar cells,the optical
transmittance (tg) and infrared transmittance (tg) o f the glass, and the tilt angle (B) o f solar panel with
respect to horizontal.Other parameters that would enter the analysis include the wind speed (V); cloud
cover,(n); and the air dew point temperature (Tdp),indicative o f the air humidity.The cell temperature is
expressed according to the general formula in (Ingersoll, 1986) as:

To: EpI - P +[hc + 0.5 C p ( l + c o s B ) (CsCn)V4hr + h f + F e Fb hr] Ta

hc + 0.5 Cp ( l + c o s B ) hr + h f + F e Fb Hr . . . . . . . . (4)
where:
Ep - Glass optical efficiency, hr - Unit radiative heat transfer.
P - Solar cell p o w e r output, in w . h f - Back panel convective heat trasnsfer.
hc - Convective coefficient. Fe - Back panel surface emissivety factor.
Cp - Infrared efficiency. Fb - Back panel surface config, factor.
Cs - Sky emmisivity. Ta - Daylight ambient temperature ,in " c
Cn - Sky cloud cover coefficient. I - Solar flux,in w/m'
Equation(4) is applied at different inclinations on 1 m 2 o f solar cells with a standard efficiency ,(Em),equal
to 10%, and using the climatic data o f Baghdad city. The results are as shown in table(l).

Table 1. Results o f T a & Tc o f solar cells at different inclinations (B) ,in Baghdad city
Ambient Temperature{Ta} in "c
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug ~ Oct Nov Dec
11.9 17.8 21.5 27.2 34.2 39.6 42.2 40.3 39.2 34.3 24.3 18.5
B Cell Temperature (Tc) in °c
0 24.2 31.4 37.3 43.9 52.2 57.3 60.4 58 56.9 50.5 377 32.6
10 26.3 33.3 38.5 44.3 52 56.9 60.1 58.2 58 52.7 401 35.5
20 28.2 34.8 39.2 44.4 51.6 56.1 59.4 58 58.7 54.3 42.1 38.1
30 29.5 35.8 395 43.9 50.7 55.1 58.4 57.5 588 555 436 40l
40 30.7 36.5 39.5 43.3 49.6 53.7 57.1 56.6 586 56.2 44 7 416
5/) 31.2 36.6 38.9 423 48.2 52.2 55.5 55.3 578 562 453 425

CONSIDERATION OF SOLAR CELL DEFICIENCY

In designing photovoltaic systems specially those in hot areas, the rise in solar cells temperature highly
affects the values o f Pine x and efficiency o f the solar modules.The effect that related to Pmax is expressed
as
Pa = Ps - Ps * D f * (Tc - 25) . . . . . . . (5)
Where:
Pa - Actual Pnwx o f solar cells at Tc above 25 °c
Ps - Standard Pmax o f solar cells at Tc = 25 °c.
D f - Deficiency f a c t o r

As an example, assume that a 1 nl 2 solar module o f ( P s ) equals to 100 watt and standard efficiency 0 1 , is
operated at Tc = 65 oc, with a (Dr) equals to 0 5 % , (Pa) is determined according to equation (5) ,as:
Pa=100'(1-.005"40)=80 watt
152 A.M. AL-SABOUNCHI

That means there is a deficiency o f ( 2 0 ) watt less than the ideal power under standard conditions. Then
the actual efficiency, (Ern a )is calculated as:
Ema- Pa/( Sc * A) . . . . . . . . . (6)

Where ,(Sc) is the solar constant which is equal to 1000 (w/m 2) ,and ( A ) i s solar cells area. Applying
equation (6) on the e x a m p l e , yields: Ema = 0.08 .
If an additional solar cell o f P m a x equal to the calculated deficit power (20 watt in the example),is added to
(Ps) to substitute the deficit, it gives a new Pmax equal to 120 watt. N o w since that new(Ps) is determined
under standard conditions,there is a still deficit in the output power at (Tc=65 °c),which is calculated as:
Pa = 120 * (1 - 0.005 * 40) = 96 watt

A new procedure to determine the additional area that must be added to the initial area to get exactly an
actual power equal to (Ps) at any value of ( T c ) , is derived as follows. Assume that the cell temperature
(Tc) exceeds 25 °c ; the deficit power (Dp) ,is determined according equation(5) as :

Dp = Ps * D f * ( T c - 25) . . . . . . . . . . . (7)
i.e, Pa = Ps - Dp . . . . . . . . . . . (8)

To substitute (Dp),a certain value o f solar power must be add to (Ps) under standard conditions, to get an
output power at any Tc > 25 °c equal to ( P s ) , that is determined as :
Dp = Ap - Ap * D f * (Tc - 25) . . . . . . . (9)

Where,(Ap)is the additional solar power that must be added to(Ps) at Tc=25°c that gives an additional
power at Tc>25°c equals exactly to(Dp).Then,(Ap) is simply formulated basing on equation(9), as :
Ap = D p / [ 1 - D f * (Tc - 25)1 . . . . . . . . . . (10)

To determine the area of solar modules corresponding to (Ap), equation (10) is divided by (Sc * Era)
Applying equation (10) on the same example after determining (DP) from eq.(7), yields :
Ap=20/[1-.005'40] = 25 watt

Then, Pse - Ps + Ap . . . . . . . . . . . . (11)

Where (Pse) is the exact value o f solar power at Tc=25°c, that gives the same quantity of (Ps) at any ( T c )
Applying equation (11) on the example yields Pse 125 watt .Then determining Pa, by applying
equation(5),as:
Pa = 125 * (1 - .005 * 40) = 100 watt
As it s h o w n , (Pa) at Tc = 65 °c is exactly equal the initial value of(Ps). Then similarly, the area ,(Ase),of
solar power corresponding to (Pse), is found as :
Ase = P s e / S c * E m . . . . . . . . . . . . (12)

Applying equation (12) on the example ,gives (Ase) equal to 1.25 m 2, that means we need a solar cells area
equal to 1.25 times the area calculated under ideal conditions to substitute exactly the deficit due to
temperature rise o f cells above 25 %.

NUMERICAL APPLICATION
A computer program was designed in this work ,that includes the considerations o f tilt factors, solar cell
temperature and deficiency of solar cell with temperature rise. Depending upon the climatic data of
Baghdad city,the program was applied on a solar cell area equals l m2,with a standard efficiency 10%
,mounted at different inclinations from (0 to 50)degrees.
 Effect of ambient temperature on solar cells 153

The monthly daily average value of ideal energy, IE(i),that can be generated by the solar cells area at
25 %, is calculated for each month as:
IE(i) = Hr(i ) * R(i) * E m (13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To find the monthly daily average of actual energy ,AE(i), equation(13) is applied with Ema substituted
instead of Em,where equation (5) is applied to determine Pa(i) with Tc(i) expressed for each month
according to equation (4) ,then the new actual efficiencies, Ema(i ) is calculated from equation (6), results
ofEma(i ) are as shown in table (2)

Table 2. Actual values of efficiencies at different inclinations (B) at actual values of Tc

Actual solar cells efficiency during the year
B Jan Feb M a r Apr M a y Jun Jul A u g Seo Oct Nov Dec
0 10 9.67 9.38 905 8.63 8.38 8.22 8.35 8.39 8.72 9.35 9.6
10 9.39 9.58 932 9.03 8.64 8.39 824 8 . 3 3 834 86 9.24 947
20 9.83 9.5 928 903 8.66 8.43 8.27 8.34 8 . 3 1 8 . 5 3 9.14 9.34
30 9.76 9.45 9.27 9.04 8 . 7 1 8.49 8.32 8.37 8.3 8.47 9.06 9.2
40 9.71 9.42 9.27 9.08 8.76 8.56 8.39 8.41 8.31 8 . 4 3 9 . 0 1 9.16
50 9.68 9.41 9.3 9.13 8.83 8 . 6 3 8.47 8.48 8 . 3 5 8.43 8.99 9.12

The monthly daily average of ideal and actual energy,(IE and AE), in w.h/m 2 are presented in table(3) for
each month at different inclinations ,according to equation (13).

Table 3. Results of IE and AE, in w.h/m 2 at different inclinations (B) for each month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
B IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE IE--AE
0 285-285 384-372 468-538 538-487 590-509 693-581 720-592 652-544 562-472 464-405 320-300 275-265

10 335-333 436-418 501-467 551-497 585-506 677-569 708-583 661-551 596-497 524-452 375-347 332-314

20 378-372 478-455 522-485 522-498 570-494 649-458 682-565 655-547 616-512 571-487 422-385 380-355

30 412-402 509-481 532-493 541-489 543-473 609-517 643-535 535-532 612-516 604-512 458-415 420-388

40 435-423 527-497 530-491 518-471 50%444 557-477 591-496 601-506 611-508 622-525 483-435 449-411

50 449-434 532-501 515-479 486-443 461-407 496-429 528-448 554-470 587-490 624-526 496-446 466-425

To find Ase(i) for each month i, the set of equations (10 to 12) is applied for each month, then the monthly
daily average values of actual energy generated by the new solar cells area (Ase),is expressed as:
AEe(i) = HT(i ) * R(i) * Ase(i) * Ema(i ) . . . . . . . . . . (14)

Where,AEe(i) is the monthly daily average of energy generated by solar cells for each month ithat
corresponds to Ase(i).The results are shown in table (4).

Table 4. Results of the monthly daily average of AEe in w.h/m 2 for each month.
Values of A E e during a year
B Jan Feb M a r Apr M a y Jun Jul Aug ~ Oct Nov Dec
0 285 384 468 538 590 693 720 651 562 464 320 275
10 335 436 501 551 585 677 708 661 596 524 375 332
20 378 478 522 552 570 649 682 655 616 571 422 380
30 412 509 532 541 543 609 643 635 621 604 548 420
40 435 527 530 518 507 557 591 601 611 622 483 449
50 449 532 515 486 461 496 528 554 587 624 496 466
154 A.M. AL-SABOUNCHI

Enerc t(whl~)
5~0 /

/*8O
I '",

/*200 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 /*0 /*5 50 55 60

~lt angle ( d e g r e e )
• Standard + Actual

Fig.2. Annual daily average of electrical energy generated by lm2 solar cells for muttiBaghdad city

By considering the results oftables(3&4)it can be noticed clearly that the values of AEe(i) in table (4) ,are
exactly equal the values of ideal energy ,IE(i), at Tc=25 °c that presented in table (3). In order to choose
the best tilt angle for Baghdad city at which the solar cells modules are mounted, the annual daily average
of solar radiation is determined for each tilt angle from (0 to 50) degree as:
12.
Annual daily average radiation = [ ~ E(i)* DA(i) ] / 365 . . . . . . . . . . . . . (15)

Equation (15) is solved for the annual daily average values of actual and exact or ideal energy, by
substituting for E(i) by(AE(i) and AEe(i)) respectively,notice that DA(i) is the number of days for month i
, the results are as shown in figure(2). From the figure it is shown obviously that in Baghdad ,the tilt angle
(30) degree is the best angle to be used in mounting solar arrays of PV systems so as to gain best values of
solar radiation during the whole year. Table (5) indicates the values of exact areas of solar cells (Ase) that
are calculated according to equations(10 to 12) at multi inclinations ,in pu.ofthe standard areas so as to
cancel exactly the deficit in the generated energy due to cells temperature rise above 25 °c Notice that such
values are considered as the related factors that can be applied for Baghdad city

Table 5. The added areas of solar cells in p.u. of standard areas for multi inclinations
p.u. added areas
B Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Non Dec
10 1.006 1.043 1.072 1.107 1.156 1.189 1.213 1.199 1.198 1.16 1.081 1.055
20 1.016 1.051 1.076 1,107 1.153 1.148 1.208 1.198 1.2/)2 1.172 1.093 1.07
30 1.024 1.057 1.078 1.105 1.148 1,177 1.201 1.194 1.204 118 1.103 1081
40 1.029 1.061 1.078 1.101 1.14 1.168 1.191 1.187 1.201 1.148 1.109 109
50 1.032 1.062 1.075 1.094 1.131 1.157 1.18 1.178 1.196 1.185 1.113 1096
60 1.032 1.06 1.069 1.086 1.121 1.145 1.167 1.167 1.187 1.181 1.113 1.098

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

It can be noticed from table (1) , that mounting the solar cell modules inclined at a certain tilt angles
increases the values of tilt factor during Winter months and decreases them during Summer months, which
lead to provide an effective benefits.
 Effect of ambient temperature on solar cells 155

One of these benefits presented in reducing the expected surplus energy recieved by modules during
Summer ,which yields to reduce the cells temperature and cells efficiency deficit. Other benefit is that it
provides more recieved energy by solar modules during Winter, resulting in reducing the expected deficit
in recieved solar radiation ,notice that the low ambient temperature during Winter months, reduces the
effect of cells temperature rise on the cells efficiency during Winter. Also it can be noticed that,due to the
increasesd values of (Tc) during Summer ,the solar cells show a high deficit in efficiency on Summer
comparing to that on Winter ,then consequently more addition of solar cells area must be added during
Summer to match the demand of energy.

From other side of view, the increase of tilt angles lead to decrease the additional solar cells area during
Summer , that because in Summer the decrease in tilt factor values causes a reduction in the recieved solar
radiation,reducing the rise in cells temperature and finaly reducing the deficit in the cells efficiency.

It can be concluded that the values of p.u. solar cells area (Ase) shown in table (5) are determined as a
factors related to Baghdad city that one can multiply them by the values of calculated areas of solar cells
modules under ideal conditions ,at different tilt angles to get a values of actual generated energy equal
exactly that calculated under ideal conditions and for any month among the yearNotice that emphasis is
placed to use the factors corresponding to (30) degree inclination where it is the optimum value for
Baghdad city.A computer program was made for the above purpose which affords the facilities of
determining such factors for any area at any inclination.

REFFERENCES
- Buresh,M.,(1983)Photovoltaic Energy systems,McGraw-Hill, New York, 77-78.
- Peter J. Lunde,(1980). Solar Thermal Engineering ,John Wily & Sons, New York, 98-120.
-M.Al-Riahi,(1987).Angular Disertation of Global Solar Radiation on Inclined Surfaces at Baghdad,
Proceedings of the ISES Solar World Congress, the Tenth Biennial Congress of the International Solar
Energy Society, Hamburg,FRG.4, 3779-3783.
-J.G Ingersoll, (1986). Simplified Calculation of Solar Cell Temperature in Terrestrial Photo-
voltaic Arrays, Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 108/95,95-101.