Floating Photovoltaic Systems in Urban Areas: Insights on the Thermoelectric Behavior and Water Evaporation Reduction

IF 3.7 3区工程技术 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS

IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics Pub Date : 2026-07-01 Epub Date: 2026-03-14 DOI:10.1109/JPHOTOV.2026.3687907

Breno Bezerra Freitas;Paulo Cesar Marques de Carvalho;José Carlos de Araújo;Leticia de Oliveira Santos

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems have gained attention worldwide due to their potential gains in generation, land saving, and water evaporation reduction. However, experimental data from installed FPV plants operating under high irradiance and ambient temperature remains scarce. Our study presents an experimental assessment comparing FPV and ground-mounted photovoltaic (GPV) systems installed side by side in an urban area under semiarid climate. The analysis considers operating weather conditions, and focuses on photovoltaic (PV) modules’ thermal and electrical behavior, as well as on the impact of FPV on the water evaporation rates. The FPV system covers 50% of the surface of a water tank; an adjacent uncovered tank is used as a reference for evaporation data. Overall, FPV and GPV modules show a similar electrical performance, with equivalence tests indicating that differences remain practically negligible at the operational scale (between

$-$

1.08% and 0.06%). FPV modules often operate at similar or slightly higher temperatures than GPV modules, consequence of low wind speed values, usually found in urban environments. In contrast, FPV modules consistently reduce water evaporation, with an average reduction of 40%, saving about 8.4 m

$^{3}$

during the period.

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浮动光伏系统在城市地区：热电行为和水蒸发减少的见解

浮动式光伏发电系统因其在发电、节约土地和减少水分蒸发等方面的潜在优势而受到全世界的关注。然而，在高辐照度和环境温度下运行的FPV电厂的实验数据仍然很少。本研究对在半干旱气候条件下城市地区并排安装的FPV和地面光伏（GPV）系统进行了实验评估。该分析考虑了运行天气条件，并着重于光伏（PV）模块的热和电气行为，以及FPV对水蒸发速率的影响。FPV系统覆盖水箱表面的50%；相邻的无盖水箱作为蒸发数据的参考。总体而言，FPV和GPV模块显示出相似的电气性能，等效测试表明，在操作规模下，差异几乎可以忽略不计（在$-$1.08%和0.06%之间）。FPV组件通常在与GPV组件相似或略高的温度下工作，这是通常在城市环境中发现的低风速值的结果。相比之下，FPV组件持续减少水蒸发，平均减少40%，在此期间节省了约840万美元。

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来源期刊

IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics ENERGY & FUELS-MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

CiteScore

7.00

自引率

10.00%

发文量

206

期刊介绍： The IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics is a peer-reviewed, archival publication reporting original and significant research results that advance the field of photovoltaics (PV). The PV field is diverse in its science base ranging from semiconductor and PV device physics to optics and the materials sciences. The journal publishes articles that connect this science base to PV science and technology. The intent is to publish original research results that are of primary interest to the photovoltaic specialist. The scope of the IEEE J. Photovoltaics incorporates: fundamentals and new concepts of PV conversion, including those based on nanostructured materials, low-dimensional physics, multiple charge generation, up/down converters, thermophotovoltaics, hot-carrier effects, plasmonics, metamorphic materials, luminescent concentrators, and rectennas; Si-based PV, including new cell designs, crystalline and non-crystalline Si, passivation, characterization and Si crystal growth; polycrystalline, amorphous and crystalline thin-film solar cell materials, including PV structures and solar cells based on II-VI, chalcopyrite, Si and other thin film absorbers; III-V PV materials, heterostructures, multijunction devices and concentrator PV; optics for light trapping, reflection control and concentration; organic PV including polymer, hybrid and dye sensitized solar cells; space PV including cell materials and PV devices, defects and reliability, environmental effects and protective materials; PV modeling and characterization methods; and other aspects of PV, including modules, power conditioning, inverters, balance-of-systems components, monitoring, analyses and simulations, and supporting PV module standards and measurements. Tutorial and review papers on these subjects are also published and occasionally special issues are published to treat particular areas in more depth and breadth.