Evaluating Seasonal Variations of selected Photovoltaic (PV) Parameters of Solar Energy System

Abstract

This study evaluated the seasonal variations of selected photovoltaic (PV) parameters of solar energy system. Specifically, it investigated if the degree of variations of daily Temperature, daily Output Current and daily Open Circuit Voltage in the rainy and dry season is statistically significant. The field study was carried out in Uruana, Nibo Community in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria was conducted between May 1, 2025 –February 28, 2026 (a ten months period). The realtime performance data of the selected three (3) solar performance parameters such as Temperature (T), Output Current (I), and Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) were collated on hourly basis from 0600hours – 1800hours daily across the Rainy season (May 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025) and Dry season (October 1, 2025 – February 28, 2026). These data were further analysed using graphs with the aid of Microsoft excel 2016 package and IBM SPSS version 16 utilizing One Way ANOVA statistical tool. It was found that the degree of variations of daily Temperature (T) performances were statistically significant in the Rainy and Dry seasons recording 40^oC consistently from May 2025 – September 2025 between 0900hours and 1600hours but 35.7 ^oC – 45.8 ^oC from October 2025 -February 2026 between 1000hours – 1500hours (p-values 0.000 and 0.004). It also discovered that the degree of variations of daily Output Current (I)  performances were statistically significant in the Rainy and Dry seasons recording its highest at 1400hours (9.0 Amperes) in June 2025 and at 9.4 Amperes in November 2025 respectively (p-values 0.001 and 0.000). Finally, the degree of variations of daily Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) performances in the Rainy and Dry seasons was however statistically insignificant (p-values 0.655 and 0.464). The study therefore concludes that while seasonal variations in the performances of the solar energy system in the Rainy and Dry seasons persist, observations made prove that the extent of such variations or differences in its performances was not statistically significant to undermine the reliability of the solar energy system in the Rainy season