Snow Losses for Different PV Module Designs: Modelling and Validation in Southern Finland
Year: 2024
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: As PV systems are becoming more common in regions with significant snow cover during winter, improving the accuracy of the snow loss prediction and monitoring is crucial. In this work, we propose a novel hybrid snow loss model that differentiates between snow loss discrepancies in full-cell and half-cell modules. Snow coverage on PV modules is evaluated using an image processing algorithm, and the interconnection between PV cells and modules is incorporated through a cell-level electrical model. Using these methods, we performed an analysis of PV snow losses for both module types in a testing system situated in southern Finland during the winter of 2023-2024. The results show that half-cell modules reduce annual snow losses by approximately 26% compared to full-cell modules. In contrast to the Marion model, this mitigating effect of half-cell modules is well reflected in our modeling results. Furthermore, our model outperforms the Marion model in predicting time-dependent snow losses, reducing the RMSE by a factor of around 3. This improvement is essential for accurate performance monitoring and forecasting in snow-affected PV systems.
Source: EU PVSEC
Authors: Wang, Shuo, Huerta, Hugo E., Jouttijärvi, Sami, Heinonen, Aleksi, Karhu, Juha A., Lindfors, Anders V., Miettunen, Kati, Ranta, Samuli
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6948165543
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