A novel approach for power enhancement of vertical mounted bifacial photovoltaic system using reflecting mirrors

Bifacial solar photovoltaics (PV) is a promising advanced technology that uses light absorption from both sides of PV modules to improve the power output produced per square meter. Irradiance is an essential parameter for power generation of PV modules. From this perspective, we propose a novel technique to increase the power generation from both sides of vertically mounted bifacial PV modules by using reflecting mirrors. The reflected irradiance incidence on the PV modules increased by approximately 10 times when reflecting mirrors were used. The power generation of the PV array improved by up to 57% during fall equinox by using tracking reflecting mirrors placed on the front and rear side at an optimal angle. Based on the experimental results, the PVsyst simulation tool was used to compute the power generation enhancement for a complete year. Compared to the mirrorless system, the power generation enhancement for the 10-kW bifacial system that used reflecting mirrors was 51% for the entire year. Therefore, this approach can entirely utilize the power generation capability of vertical PV modules in roof top and fence-type applications.