Enhancing the power production of PV modules by rearranging the solar-cells interconnections

The diffuse solar radiation incident on a PV module is unequally distributed along the module's width due to the variability in the view factor that the module 'sees' facing the sky. This causes solar cells in different locations within the module to exhibit non-uniform performance. The non-uniformity manifests itself in the current mismatch and the power losses introduced by the module's typical all-series connection. The study proposes to convert the traditional all-series interconnection into parallel strips, a strategy which proves advantageous in reducing the current mismatch while increasing the module's overall power yield. Using a case study pertaining to a specific site with considerable amount of diffuse irradiation, we show that the power gain reaches 6.5% on average.