Response surface methodology based parametric analysis of the impact of installation factors on bifacial gain

The performance estimation of a bifacial PV array is significantly more sophisticated than that of a normal monofacial installation because of its sensitivity to several additional parameters. The optimal operation of bifacial PV is mainly governed by the module's orientation, i.e., its tilt angle (β), albedo of the site (ρg), elevation above ground (E), and azimuth angle (γ). A sensitivity study on the influence different bifacial PV installation factors have on the bifacial gain (BG) is presented. RADIANCE based ray tracing model is utilized to simulate the effective irradiance on a bifacial photovoltaic module. The sensitivity study is carried out through response surface methodology (RSM) to determine the impact of different installation parameters on effective irradiance and BG of a bifacial module. The analysis have high significance (p<0.05) for all installation parameters as well as significant interaction among the factors. Furthermore, the simulations results show that module height and ground albedo have the maximum impact in governing the BG of a bifacial module.