Wayne Hicks, NREL10.25.22
Moving rows of solar panels farther apart can increase efficiency and improve economics in certain instances by allowing greater airflow to whisk away some heat, according to a new analysis.
Solar panels work by capturing sunlight and converting that to electricity, but the accompanying heat can decrease their power output slightly. The analysis looked beyond current operating assumptions that considered only the amount of sunlight, wind speed, and ambient temperature.
“But in reality, when you look at the layout of the system, like how the modules are spaced apart, what angle they're at, how high they're off the ground—that all affects airflow,” said Matthew Prilliman, a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), whose expertise includes modelling the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Prilliman is lead author of the paper “Technoeconomic Analysis of Changing PV Array Convective
Solar panels work by capturing sunlight and converting that to electricity, but the accompanying heat can decrease their power output slightly. The analysis looked beyond current operating assumptions that considered only the amount of sunlight, wind speed, and ambient temperature.
“But in reality, when you look at the layout of the system, like how the modules are spaced apart, what angle they're at, how high they're off the ground—that all affects airflow,” said Matthew Prilliman, a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), whose expertise includes modelling the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Prilliman is lead author of the paper “Technoeconomic Analysis of Changing PV Array Convective
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