Rooftop PV data for better energy prediction models
At its new Roof Photovoltaic Test Facility, NIST is monitoring the electrical performance and thermal performance of seven different residential systems designed for sloped roofs and two commercial building units designed for flat, industrial roofs. The data will be used to evaluate and improve computer algorithms for software simulation programs that predict the installed energy production of photovoltaic roof installations.
The test photovoltaic systems are blended into concrete tile, slate and asphalt shingle roofs for residential applications and in raised, unframed modules for commercial applications. Each of the nine photovoltaic systems fall within the three general categories of photovoltaic cell technology–single crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon–with each unit representing different manufacturing processes, materials and design features.
Current, voltage and power output are sampled four times a minute for each test specimen. Ambient temperature, wind speed and the temperature of the test specimens also are measured at numerous locations because the operating temperature of photovoltaic modules affects the conversion efficiency of the units. Finally, the researchers are taking solar radiation measurements at the various planes of the installed roofing projects. Comparative analysis of the solar radiation data will allow NIST researchers to determine the accuracy of solar radiation models that take the horizontal radiation measurements, normally available at airports, and compute the quantity of solar radiation on surfaces at various tile angles.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.nist.govAll latest news from the category: Power and Electrical Engineering
This topic covers issues related to energy generation, conversion, transportation and consumption and how the industry is addressing the challenge of energy efficiency in general.
innovations-report provides in-depth and informative reports and articles on subjects ranging from wind energy, fuel cell technology, solar energy, geothermal energy, petroleum, gas, nuclear engineering, alternative energy and energy efficiency to fusion, hydrogen and superconductor technologies.
Newest articles
Lighting up the future
New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…
Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code
Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….
Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….