Assessment of the thermal and energy performance of Photovoltaic modules in Agrivoltaics systems
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Date
2025
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University of Namibia
Abstract
The study evaluates the thermal and energy performance of photovoltaic modules in
an agrivoltaic system in Benin, west Africa. This was done by employing three sets of
heat transfer coefficients: Faiman, Benin, and Büren into the Faiman module temperature prediction model. The dataset for this study extends from April to July
2023, marked by high ambient temperatures exceeding 30℃. According to the
findings, the cooling effect was significant for the results of Büren coefficients, and
the agrivoltaic system generated up to 3.0% more energy than the non-agrivoltaic,
especially at higher module temperature ranges of 40 ℃ - 55 ℃. The Benin
coefficients demonstrated a moderate cooling effect, evidenced by a positive energy
yield difference of up to 1.0% in the month of May. However, the cooling effect
reduced in the hotter month of July resulting in a -1.0% energy difference between the
two systems. The Faiman coefficient, on the other hand, demonstrated no cooling
effect, as shown by consistently yielding negative energy differences, especially in
May (-1.0%).
The statistical analysis indicates that the Faiman coefficients provided a closer fit to
the actual Benin-derived temperatures (R2
: 0.99 and MAE: 0.54 ℃). Whereas the
results from the Büren coefficients showed the strongest cooling effect, achieving a
reduction in module temperatures of up to 4℃ relative to the non-agrivoltaic system.
The findings highlight the need for site-specific coefficient tuning to enhance the
accuracy and the reliability of the findings
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Renewable Energy
Keywords
Agrivoltaic (APV), Photovoltaic (PV), Thermal Analysis, Cooling Effects, Integrated PV, Namibia, University of Namibia