IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i11p4531-d1164375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Partial Photoluminescence Imaging for Inspection of Photovoltaic Cells: Artificial LED Excitation and Sunlight Excitation

Author

Listed:
  • Alberto Redondo Plaza

    (Department of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry, University of Valladolid, 42004 Soria, Spain)

  • Victor Ndeti Ngungu

    (Department of Electrical, Electronic & Computer Engineering, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa)

  • Sara Gallardo Saavedra

    (Department of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry, University of Valladolid, 42004 Soria, Spain)

  • José Ignacio Morales Aragonés

    (Department of Applied Physics, University of Valladolid, 47002 Valladolid, Spain)

  • Víctor Alonso Gómez

    (Department of Applied Physics, University of Valladolid, 47002 Valladolid, Spain)

  • Lilian Johanna Obregón

    (Department of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry, University of Valladolid, 42004 Soria, Spain)

  • Luis Hernández Callejo

    (Department of Agricultural Engineering and Forestry, University of Valladolid, 42004 Soria, Spain)

Abstract

Photovoltaic power is a crucial renewable energy source that has the potential to enhance a city’s sustainability. However, in order to identify the various issues that may occur during the lifespan of a photovoltaic module, solar module inspection techniques are crucial. One valuable technique that is commonly used is luminescence, which captures silicon emissions. This article focuses on a specific luminescence technique called partial photoluminescence. This technique involves illuminating a specific portion of the solar cell surface and recording the luminescence emission generated in the remaining area. This method has been trialed in a laboratory environment, utilizing infrared LEDs as the excitation source. An analysis of the main parameters that affect the technique is provided, where pictures have been taken under varying exposure times ranging from 50 ms to 400 ms, irradiance levels ranging from 200 W/m 2 to 1000 W/m 2 , and a percentage of illuminated cells ranging from 10% to 40%. Furthermore, the experimental device has been modified to generate images utilizing sunlight as the excitation source. Several pictures of damaged cells were taken under an irradiance range of 340 W/m 2 to 470 W/m 2 . The quality of the partial photoluminescence images is comparable to conventional electroluminescence images, but longer exposure times are required.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Redondo Plaza & Victor Ndeti Ngungu & Sara Gallardo Saavedra & José Ignacio Morales Aragonés & Víctor Alonso Gómez & Lilian Johanna Obregón & Luis Hernández Callejo, 2023. "Partial Photoluminescence Imaging for Inspection of Photovoltaic Cells: Artificial LED Excitation and Sunlight Excitation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-12, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:11:p:4531-:d:1164375
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/11/4531/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/11/4531/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Høiaas, Ingeborg & Grujic, Katarina & Imenes, Anne Gerd & Burud, Ingunn & Olsen, Espen & Belbachir, Nabil, 2022. "Inspection and condition monitoring of large-scale photovoltaic power plants: A review of imaging technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    2. Timo Kropp & Markus Schubert & Jürgen H. Werner, 2018. "Quantitative Prediction of Power Loss for Damaged Photovoltaic Modules Using Electroluminescence," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-14, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pascal Kölblin & Alexander Bartler & Marvin Füller, 2021. "Image Preprocessing for Outdoor Luminescence Inspection of Large Photovoltaic Parks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Abdulla, Hind & Sleptchenko, Andrei & Nayfeh, Ammar, 2024. "Photovoltaic systems operation and maintenance: A review and future directions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    3. Tang, Wuqin & Yang, Qiang & Dai, Zhou & Yan, Wenjun, 2024. "Module defect detection and diagnosis for intelligent maintenance of solar photovoltaic plants: Techniques, systems and perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    4. Adnan Aslam & Naseer Ahmed & Safian Ahmed Qureshi & Mohsen Assadi & Naveed Ahmed, 2022. "Advances in Solar PV Systems; A Comprehensive Review of PV Performance, Influencing Factors, and Mitigation Techniques," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-52, October.
    5. Ahmed Al Mansur & Md. Ruhul Amin & Kazi Khairul Islam, 2019. "Performance Comparison of Mismatch Power Loss Minimization Techniques in Series-Parallel PV Array Configurations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Bojan Kranjec & Sasa Sladic & Wojciech Giernacki & Neven Bulic, 2018. "PV System Design and Flight Efficiency Considerations for Fixed-Wing Radio-Controlled Aircraft—A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-12, October.
    7. Wilfried van Sark, 2019. "Photovoltaic System Design and Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-6, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:11:p:4531-:d:1164375. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.