ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYS TEMS UNDER KADUNA WEATHER CONDI TIONS

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of ambient temperature on the performance of a 1 00W solar photovoltaic system under the prevailing weather conditions of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Afaka, Kaduna. The photovoltaic module was set up at a tilt angle of 15 . The ambient temperature
and humidity were measured hourly using the weather station between 9am to 5pm for 30 days from October 16, 2023. The results show that power output and efficiency decrease as ambient temperature increases. A strong positive correlation (R = 0. 79095) was found between ambient and PV panel temperatures. Additionally, ambient temperature was found to have a moderate negative correlation with Voltage (R = -0.4291) and a strong negative correlation with ,a0wer output (Fa= - 0.80519). The analysis revealed that power output decreases with increasing ambient temperature. The simulation results validated the experimental findings, with percentage errors ranging from -21.63% to 16.01 %. These findings have important implications for optimizing solar photovoltaic system performance in tropical regions.