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The University of Arizona AzRISE (Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy) and Tucson Electric Power solar test yard is currently undergoing renovations to upgrade and standardize the data acquisition capabilities throughout the yard. Test yard improvements have enabled increased data collection reliability through state-of-the-art and environmentallyrobust data logging and real-time analysis. Enhanced capabilities include 10 msec max. data resolution, precision PV backside temperature monitoring of both individual and strings of modules, measurement of both AC and DC outputs as well as GHI and POA irradiance, active data backup to eliminate data intermittency, and robust Ethernet connectivity for data collection. An on-site weather station, provides wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and air temperature data. The information collected is accessed remotely via web server and includes raw performance and environmental conditions as well as extracted figures of performance for systems under test. Complementing the UA's existing accelerated environmental-testing chamber, the new test yard acquisition capabilities have enabled high fidelity system and sub-system-level operational testing under a range of field-level test conditions. The combined facilities, thus, provide a full-spectrum testing resource for photovoltaic performance and degradation analysis. Specific measurement characteristics and sample data collected from a polysilicon module test string are utilized to illustrate test yard capabilities.

It is well known that the efficiency of a photovoltaic (PV) module is strongly impacted by its temperature such that higher temperatures lead to lower energy conversion efficiencies. An accurate measurement of the temperature de-rating effect, therefore, is vital to the correct interpretation of PV module performance under varied environmental conditions. The current work investigates and compares methods for performing measurements of module temperature both in the lab and in field-test environments. A comparison of several temperature measurement devices was made in order to establish the ideal sensor configuration for quantifying module operating temperature. Sensors were also placed in various locations along a string of up to eight photovoltaic modules to examine the variance in operating temperature with position in the string and within a larger array of strings. Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 02/15/2017 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/termsofuse.aspx Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9938 99380Q-2 Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 02/15/2017 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/termsofuse.aspx