Abstract

In this experimental study, a solar panel was exposed to different intensities of an Electromagnetic Field (EMF) emitted by a base transceiver station (BTS). To avoid influences from other electromagnetic (EM) waves sources the current-voltage characteristics of the PV silicon solar panel was measured, outdoor in free space on an isolated site, in the sub-urban Boassa in West of the Ouagadougou city in Burkina Faso. The solar photovoltaic (PV) panel has been moved from 37 to 500 m from the antenna in order to investigate the effect of the amplitude of the EMF on its output power production. The experimental results showed that from 37 to 50 m, the fill factor (FF), the maximum power output (Pmax) and the conversion efficiency (η) increase respectively by about 2.62, 7.54 and 7.96% for the last two, while the short circuit current (Isc) decreases by about 2.23% compared to the values obtained at the 50 m position. Beyond the distance of 50 m, (r > 50 m) an opposite phenomenon is observed: increase of Isc by about 15%, decrease of fill factor, conversion efficiency (η) and maximum power output respectively of about 2.1, 25.44, and 8.86% for the last two compared to the values obtained at the 50 m position. The behavior of the fill factor shows that despite the small variation of Voc compared to that of Isc, the behavior of certain electrical parameters such as the conversion efficiency and the maximum power out-put remain strongly influenced by Voc.

Key words: Photovoltaic (PV) module, base transceiver station (BTS), electromagnetic field (EMF), performance, experimental study.