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The outdoor dependence of temperature and diurnal irradiance on inverted organic photovoltaic (OPV) module performance has been analysed and benchmarked against monocrystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic technology. This is first such report and it is observed that OPVs exhibit poorer performance under low light conditions, such as overcast days, as a result of inflexion behaviour in the current-voltage curves, which limits the open-circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor. These characteristics can be removed by photo-annealing at higher irradiance levels, which occur diurnally as irradiance increases after sunrise. We also report the first temperature coefficients for OPVs from outdoor data; the OPV modules showed a positive temperature coefficient, which compared to a negative coefficient from the c-Si modules. Overall, the cell degradation outdoors appears very severe for these modules and highlights the need for improved barrier.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jan 2015
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