Article

Seasonal variations in the operating temperature of silicon solar panels in southern Ghana

Published in: African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development
Volume 7 , issue 6 , 2015 , pages: 485–490

DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2015.1038006

Author(s): H.A. Koffi Department of Physics, Ghana , V.C.K. Kakane Department of Physics, Ghana , A. Kuditcher Department of Physics, Ghana , A.F. Hughes Department of Physics, Ghana , M.B. Adeleye Department of Physics, Ghana , J.K.A Amuzu Department of Physics, Ghana

Keywords: Solar , panel , season , temperature , harmattan , tropical , crystalline silicon , Solar , panel , season , temperature , harmattan , tropical , crystalline silicon

Download full text Get new issue alerts

Abstract

This work deals with the seasonal daily variation of the operating temperature of silicon solar panels under tropical atmospheric conditions, including high turbidity (Harmattan dust particles). Data was collected from March 2010 to July 2012 at Legon (0°11′08″ W, 5°39'04″ N) using a Davis wireless Vantage Pro2 Plus weather station monitored with the software WeatherLink®. While the ‘common outdoor’ operating temperature is usually set at 45 °C, it has been observed that during the harmattan season, the operating temperature of a solar panel can rise beyond 70°C.

« Dissemination effort, innovation attributes, and variations in innovation dissemination rate

The Shockley five-parameter model of a solar cell: A short note »