Since 2010 the Dutch photovoltaic (PV) market has been growing fast, with around doubling of installed capacity in 2011 and 2012. Four quarterly inventories have been made in 2012 for modules, inverters, and systems that are presently available for purchase in the Netherlands. We have found that...

The pressure field on the upper and lower surfaces of a photovoltaic (PV) module comprised of 24 individual PV panels was studied experimentally in a wind tunnel for four different wind directions. The results show that the pressure distribution on the module surface is symmetric about its...

For dissemination and promotion of photovoltaic power generation systems, it is important to reduce power generation cost because the cost is very expensive compared with conventional power generation methods. The cost of building materials integrated PV modules can be at least partially...

This paper presents an application of the neural networks for identification of the maximum power (MP) and the normal operating power (NOP) of a photovoltaic (PV) module. Two neural networks are developed; the first is the maximum power neural network (MPNN) and the second is the normal operating...

This paper presents a development and implementation of a PC-based maximum power point tracker (MPPT) for PV system using neural networks (NN). The system consists of a PV module via a MPPT supplying a dc motor that drives an air fan. The control algorithm is developed to use the artificial NN...

The theoretical performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is typically evaluated by using models based on equivalent circuits whose parameters are derived from data listed in manufacture's datasheet. Few manufactures provide detailed enough datasheets to allow using highly accurate models. In...

The thermal performance of the PV/T (photovoltaic thermal) system and conventional collector is affected by water storage capacity. There are limited studies which show the effects of the storage capacity on the performance of different solar systems. This paper measures and analyzes the...

Simple and reliable, PV direct-coupled DC pumps are promising in solar water heating systems (SWHS). However, there is limited experimental data on the performance comparison of PV-coupled SWHS with traditional SWHS. Hence in this study, a comparative test rig is set up to measure and analyze...

The outdoor performance of thin film technologies is not so satisfactorily understood as that of crystalline silicon. Despite all PV materials are influenced by the spectral irradiance, thin film PV modules are especially sensitive to it. Thus, the spectral factor (SF) is a useful index to...

The simulation of module temperature from Nominal Operation Cell Temperature (NOCT) is widely used to easily estimate module performance along the year. In this context, it is important to determine this parameter in a reliable way, as it is used to compare the performance of different module...