The performance of solar PV modules is significantly affected by
temperature. This paper focuses on the determination of the effect of temperature
on a commercial mono-crystalline silicon PV module whose temperature coefficients
were not provided by the manufacturer for installation in Kumasi, Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) ambient. In order to determine the effect of
temperature on the output characteristics of the module, the temperature
coefficients of current, voltage and power were determined. First of all, the
module was cooled to a temperature between 10°C-15°C in a cooling chamber, covered with cardboard paper
before the outdoor electrical tests using Daystar I-V Curve tracer. The results
show that as temperature increases, irradiance decreases significantly leading
to a decrease in output power (Pmax). The open circuit voltage (Voc) also decreases, whilst short
circuit current (Isc)
increases slightly. The temperature coefficients were obtained from the slopes
of the plots of temperature against Pmax, Iscand Voc. The slopes were used to
determine how the respective output characteristics are affected as the module’s
temperature rises. The
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