The Impact of Air Mass on the Performance of a Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Module in Kakamega
Ligavo Margdaline Musanga *
Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
Mageto Maxwell
Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
Wafula Henry Barasa
Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
Emmanuel Yeri Kombe
Department of Energy Technology, School of Engineering and Technology, Kenyatta University, Kenya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This paper investigates the outdoor performance of a 20 W monocrystalline silicon solar module in relation to air mass (AM) in Kakamega. Direct measurement of air mass and module output parameters from experimental setup was done in Kakamega at a location 0.28270 N and 34.7519 E. Experimental results showed a decrease in ISC and VOC with increasing AM. The maximum output power produced by the module reduced with an increase in AM. Maximum power was therefore seen to be produced at noon in this region. VOC increased from 19.47 to 20.04 then decreased to 19.49 V while ISC increased from 0.36 to 1.19 then decreased to 0.48A. It was observed that both the FF and of a monocrystalline solar module increase with increase in air mass. The module performed better during the afternoon than morning and evening hours with the peak performance observed close to AM 1.
Keywords: Solar module, air mass, outdoor performance, renewable energy, peak performance