What does the TArray result mean : cell or module temperature ?

[André Mermoud]

Basically the TArray corresponds to the cell temperature.

If some people make a difference between Cell and Module temperature, this is mainly related to the way of measuring it.

Please remember that a thermometer always measures its own temperature.

If you put a sensor behind the PV module without insulating it, there will be a thermal flux between the cell temperature and the sensor, and from the sensor to the ambient, so that the sensor measures an intermediate value (not well determined).

If you put some insulation, you block this flux and the sensor will measure the "real" cell's temperature (thermal equillibrium conditions). For such a measurement, after some optimizations at the University of Geneva (using a special module with an integrated sensor directly on the cell within the encapsulation), we propose to cover the sensor with a piece of polystyrene of about 7 x 7 x 1 cm3. This size ensures a compromize, i.e. a sufficient insulation, without perturbating too much the local Cell's temperature.