RESEARCH PAPER
Increase in the operating temperature of silicon photovoltaic cells and its impact on the solar energy conversion efficiency
 
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Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland
 
 
Submission date: 2025-11-13
 
 
Final revision date: 2026-02-25
 
 
Acceptance date: 2026-03-31
 
 
Publication date: 2026-06-05
 
 
Corresponding author
Ewa KLUGMANN-RADZIEMSKA   

Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
 
 
Acta Mechanica et Automatica 2026;20(2):262-270
 
HIGHLIGHTS
  • 1. Solar modules work best at a specific temperature
  • 2. Temperature increase has negative impact on the output energy obtained
  • 3. It is beneficial to reduce the operating temperature of PV cells
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Heat transfer within the photovoltaic module determines the operating temperature of the cells and, consequently, the amount of energy loss. A widely used material for the photovoltaic (PV) arrays is crystalline silicon. Energy losses occurring during the photovoltaic energy conversion process in a power plant average 26.8% per year, which is due to many factors. It can be stated that the major fraction of losses is related to the temperature increase of the silicon solar cells. In real operating conditions, solar cells and modules operate at different temperatures, either due to changes in ambient temperature (atmospheric conditions changing with the seasons) and cooling rate, depend-ing on wind speed and insolation, rain, snow, etc., or due to changes in the amount of heat (electrical power lost on the internal re-sistance of the cell), emitted during their operation. The possibility of operation of these devices in ground applications in the temperature range from -20 to +70oC should be taken into account. The given range, of course, does not apply to operation in the tropics. The detailed studies of the impact of temperature on the electrical parameters of crystalline silicon solar cells have been presented. The theoretical justification of the temperature influence mechanism on the exploitation parameters of the silicon solar cells has been submitted. The better photovoltaic cells and modules, the lower the values of temperature coefficients, in particular, attention should be paid to the decrease in generated energy with increasing temperature. The experimental results were compared with the theoretical predictions and the results, obtained by other authors and producers. The conclusions emphasize the need to maintain the optimal tempera-ture from the energy efficiency point of view, in the range of 22-25oC, which is most easily achieved by using one of the methods of cool-ing the rear surface of the module.
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ISSN:1898-4088
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