94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Smart Grids
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2025.1499171
The Effect of PV Modules on Temperature Conditions of Nearby Power Cables
Provisionally accepted- 1 Faculty of Electrical and Control Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland
- 2 Institute of Fluid Flow Machinery, Polish Academy of Sciences, Gdańsk, Pomeranian, Poland
- 3 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, COMSATS University, Islamabad Campus, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
The highest permissible load of power cables (ampacity) depends strongly on the ambient temperature, which in the case of cables surrounded by free air is generally assumed to be 25 degrees Celsius. Considering the installation of photovoltaic (PV) modules, the thermal conditions for the cables connected to these modules may be very unfavorable. The cables are laid under the module and the space underneath it is heated by this module. The aim of the paper is to present a numerical model of an example PV module mounted on the roof of a building, as well as the results of numerical calculations of the temperature around the module. Based on the numerical model of the PV system and advanced calculations it is possible to introduce a correction factor to determine the ampacity of the power cables located in the vicinity of the PV module. The authors' research allows for the correct determination of the cable ampacity, avoiding its overheating and preventing the risk of fire.
Keywords: Ampacity, Energy, Photovoltaic source, Power cable, Power system, thermal effect
Received: 20 Sep 2024; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Czapp, Szultka, Tomaszewski and Khan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Stanislaw Czapp, Faculty of Electrical and Control Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.