Temperature and Environmental Effects on Solar Cell Performance: A Review
Abstract
Solar cells transform sunlight into electricity. Prolonged outdoor exposure to temperature and environmental factors such as humidity, moisture, soiling, UV radiation, and other contaminants may induce performance loss, accelerate degradation, or change device behaviour. This review examines how temperature and environment affect solar cell performance, including mechanisms, materials, structures, and design concepts.
Temperature alters bandgap, absorption, open-circuit voltage, and other parameters. Carrier mobility and recombination dynamics depend on temperature; effects vary by technology. Series resistance, shunt pathways, and fill factor also change. Temperature differentials cause thermal lensing, mechanical stress, and module-level deformation. Humidity and moisture ingress enable corrosion or delamination; failure modes depend on architecture. Optical environment and spectral variability alter spectral response and energy yield. Dust, soiling, and contaminants modify transmittance or reflectance. UV exposure initiates photo-degradation pathways, longevity depends on material type.
Si technologies exhibit diverse temperature coefficients and degradation routes. Thin films reject excess heat but suffer environmental stress and unintentional dopant diffusion. Perovskites degrade via multiple pathways, behaviour differs by formulation. Additive-layer structures exhibit photothermal instability; strategies to mitigate heat and moisture are needed (Siecker et al., 2017) ; (Emin Ekin, 2019).
Keywords: Solar Cell Performance Degradation, Temperature Effects on Photovoltaic Devices, Environmental Stress Factors in Solar Cells, Photovoltaic Materials Stability, Thermal and Moisture-Induced Failure Mechanisms.
