Investigation to estimate the short circuit current by applying the solar spectrum

The influence of the solar spectrum is investigated to estimate the outdoor short circuit current (Isc) of various photovoltaic (PV) modules. It is well known that the solar spectrum always changes. Hence, it is rare to fit the standard solar spectrum AM1·5G defined in standard IEC 60904‐3. In addition, the spectral response (SR) of PV module is different depending on the material. For example, crystal silicon (c‐Si) has broad sensitivity that the wavelength range is between 350 and 1150 nm; meanwhile, amorphous silicon (a‐Si) has relatively narrow sensitivity comparing to c‐Si. Since Isc of the PV module decides by multiplying the solar spectrum and SR together, it is necessary to investigate the solar spectrum to estimate the outdoor Isc in addition to the solar irradiance and module temperature. In this study, the spectral mismatch is calculated and the outdoor Isc is estimated in the whole year. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.