Due to the low weight, thinness and the possibility to adapt to non-standard shapes, flexible thin-film photovoltaic (FPV) modules offer new opportunities for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Even though very important for BIPV applications, the performance of FPV modules in partial shading and under curvature has been rarely investigated. In addition, conventional modeling tools can simulate module electrical performance only for planar surfaces. In this contribution, we present a new modeling environment for the calculation of the electricity yield of FPV modules in partial shading and under curvature. We investigate how FPV module design, in terms of cell dimension, interconnection and bypass diode integration, influences module performance in partial shading using experimental measurements and simulation. The methodology is applied in a case study to optimize the design and layout of FPV modules on a doubly curved roof shell structure.
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Hofer et al. (2016) studied this question.