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Antireflection coatings for solar panel power output enhancement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Gopal G. Pethuraja ,
Roger E. Welser ,
John W. Zeller ,
Yash R. Puri ,
Ashok K. Sood ,
Harry Efstathiadis ,
Pradeep Haldar  and
Jennifer L. Harvey
Gopal G. Pethuraja
Affiliation:
Magnolia Solar, Inc., 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203, USA Energy and Environmental Applications Center (E2TAC), College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY 12203, USA
Roger E. Welser
Affiliation:
Magnolia Solar, Inc., 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203, USA
John W. Zeller
Affiliation:
Magnolia Solar, Inc., 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203, USA
Yash R. Puri
Affiliation:
Magnolia Solar, Inc., 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203, USA
Ashok K. Sood
Affiliation:
Magnolia Solar, Inc., 251 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203, USA
Harry Efstathiadis
Affiliation:
Energy and Environmental Applications Center (E2TAC), College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY 12203, USA
Pradeep Haldar
Affiliation:
Energy and Environmental Applications Center (E2TAC), College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY 12203, USA
Jennifer L. Harvey
Affiliation:
NYSERDA, 17 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203, USA
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Abstract

The impact of nanostructured broadband antireflection (AR) coatings on solar panel performance has been projected for a broad range of panel tilt angles at various locations. AR coated films have been integrated on test panels and the short-circuit current has been measured for the entire range of panel tilts. The integration of the AR coatings resulted in an increase in short-circuit current of the panels by eliminating front sheet reflection loss for a broad spectrum of light and wide angle of light incidence. The short-circuit current enhancement is 5% for normal light incidence and approximately 20% for off-angle light incidence. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) System Advisor Model (SAM) predicts that this AR coating can yield at least 6.5% improvement in solar panel annual power output. The greatest enhancement, approximately 14%, is predicted for vertical panels. The AR coating’s contributions to vertical mount panels and building-integrated solar panels are significant. This nanostructured broadband AR coating thus has the potential to lower the cost per watt of photovoltaic solar energy.

Keywords

photovoltaicnanostructureoptical properties
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1771: Symposium B/C/D/E – Recent Advances in Photovoltaics , 2015 , pp. 67 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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