Self-consumption rate achieved by the bifacial East-West vertical PV system compared to the conventional South facing system in Nordic conditions

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison between bifacial east-west vertical (EWV) and conventional south facing monofacial PV system in Nordic conditions. Special attention is given to the self-consumption rate reached at each system when residential loads are considered. Two test systems with bifacial EWV solar modules were installed, one on the rooftop of the premises at Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) in Finland and another bifacial and monofacial system in Fairbanks, Alaska at the campus of the University of Alaska. System performance was monitored and recorded once per minute for post analysis. The real residential PV system at near proximity to the Turku test site was selected as a reference. The performance of the systems was monitored for a full calendar year in Finland and for two months in Alaska. This yield data is compared to the real-world residential load data collected earlier from the Turku region. As a result, the self-consumption rate of the systems can be calculated.