Performance of solar panels covered with colour glass sheets when subjected to different irradiance values of electromagnetic spectrum

The performance of Photovoltaic panels are highly influenced by the temperature of the panel and the intensity of radiation falling on it. This paper depicts the characteristic behavior of the solar panel when subjected to different irradiance values when covered with different colour glass sheets of varying thickness. Experiments were conducted by covering the panel surface with colour glass sheets. Each colour glass sheet of varying thickness placed on the panel are exposed to three irradiance values and the power, efficiency of the panel were measured. On using red colour sheet there was about six degree drop in temperature as the sheet thickness increased from 0.03 mm to 0.1 mm thickness, at 485 W/m2. For the remaining colours there were One degree drop in temperature for the increased thickness of the sheet. For 600 W/m2 and 900 W/m2, red colour sheets drived the panel temperature drop to about three and four degree in celcius respectively when the sheet thickness increased. For other colours, the drop in temperature is less than two degree.It is evident that the temperature of the panel is minimum for red colour sheet than other colours for the three irradiance values. As well the maximum power output is fairly high when Red colour sheet is used. The efficiency was calculated and compared for all colour filters. Red colour sheet showed high and consistent efficiency than the other three colours.