Transient and steady state simulation studies and experiments for the performance of c-Si and pc-Si PV cells in high illumination levels

The PV cell performance under various high illumination levels is investigated. Two PV cells, a c-Si and a pc-Si, were used in the experiments. A light source of 1000W/m2 was used for indoor experiments. A set of experiments was carried out to study the Voc, isc and the PV cell temperature time profile Tc(t). The analysis of the transient performance for Voc, isc and the cell temperature Tc(t), vs time at different illumination levels discloses factors which affect the PV cell performance. A prediction model for the PV cell temperature, Tc, is developed and the results are compared with measured values. The same is tried for the prediction of Voc. The predicted Voc values by this model are compared to measured ones. The experimental set up and the instrumentation used assisted the study of the PV-cell performance up to concentration ratio of C=25. The peak power Pm as estimated by the i-V curve shows that Pm vs the concentration ratio C gets a maximum at C=22. Then, Pm, starts decreasing due to Joule effect.