Energy, Exergy and Exergoeconomic Analysis of a Solar Photovoltaic Module

Abstract This chapter describes an experimental study performed on a polycrystalline solar photovoltaic (PV) module to determine its performance characteristics through energy, exergy, and exergoeconomic analyses. Energy and exergy analyses were performed according to the first and the second laws of thermodynamics. Thus, energy and maximum electrical, power conversion, and exergy efficiencies were obtained as functions of environmental, operational, and design parameters. The exergoeconomic analysis was performed by applying the exergy destruction and energy loss rate of the PV, with an aim of determining the actual product cost of the system. According to the analyses conducted in this study, the power conversion efficiency varied in the range 9.6% to 18.3%, whereas the maximum electrical efficiency varied between 12.6% and 23.12%. In addition, with a gradual increase, the energy efficiency varied from 24% to 68.4%, whereas the corresponding exergy efficiency varied in the range of 9.3% and 18.1% throughout the month.