Electrothermal Modeling of Photovoltaic Modules for the Detection of Hot-Spots Caused by Soiling

Solar energy plays a major role in the transition to renewable energy. To ensure that large-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants operate at their full potential, their monitoring is essential. It is common practice to utilize drones equipped with infrared thermography (IRT) cameras to detect defects in modules, as the latter can lead to deviating thermal behavior. However, IRT images can also show temperature hot-spots caused by inhomogeneous soiling on the module’s surface. Hence, the method does not differentiate between defective and soiled modules, which may cause false identification and economic and resource loss when replacing soiled but intact modules. To avoid this, we propose to detect spatially inhomogeneous soiling losses and model temperature variations explained by soiling. The spatially resolved soiling information can be obtained, for example, using aerial images captured with ordinary RGB cameras during drone flights. This paper presents an electrothermal model that translates the spatially resolved soiling losses of PV modules into temperature maps. By comparing such temperature maps with IRT images, it can be determined whether the module is soiled or defective. The proposed solution consists of an electrical model and a thermal model which influence each other. The electrical model of Bishop is used which is based on the single-diode model and replicates the power output or consumption of each cell, whereas the thermal model calculates the individual cell temperatures. Both models consider the given soiling and weather conditions. The developed model is capable of calculating the module temperature for a variety of different weather conditions. Furthermore, the model is capable of predicting which soiling pattern can cause critical hot-spots.