Impact of Ground Albedo on Monofacial and Bifacial PV Modules: A PVsyst-Based Performance Evaluation under South Indian Climate

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Dinesh Manickam 1
Vijayaprabhu Arumugam 2
Thangalakshmi Sivalingam 3
Bhaskar Kosuru Bojji Raju 1
Dinesh Babu Kesavan 4
Abhishek Agarwal 5
1 Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Adhi College of Engineering and Technology, Kanchipuram, India
2 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Siddharth Institute of Engineering and Technology, Puttur, India
3 School of Marine Engineering and Technology, Indian maritime University, Maharashtra, India
4 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Adhi College of Engineering and Technology, Kanchipuram, India
5 Department of Energy Technology, Tallinn University of Technology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
10.22059/jser.2026.408422.1690
Abstract
This investigation evaluates the influence of rooftop reflectance on the performance of mono- and bifacial photovoltaic systems using a PVsyst-based simulation of a 125 kWp rooftop installation under tropical climatic conditions in southern India. Both photovoltaic technologies were analysed using identical electrical and geometric configurations so that rooftop albedo remained the only varying parameter. A reference albedo of 0.30 was considered for both technologies, while enhanced albedo scenarios of 0.50, 0.60, and 0.85 were evaluated for bifacial modules. Simulation results show that the monofacial system operating at an albedo of 0.30 generated 188.45 MWh/year with a performance ratio (PR) of 83.76%, whereas the bifacial configuration under identical conditions produced 187.11 MWh/year. As the rooftop albedo increased, the annual energy yield of the bifacial system increased to 187.86, 188.23, and 189.16 MWh/year for albedo values of 0.50, 0.60, and 0.85, respectively. This improvement was accompanied by a marginal reduction in PR from 83.17% to 82.83%, primarily due to higher operating temperatures associated with increased rear-side irradiance. The analysis further identifies an albedo-dependent performance transition threshold between 0.60 and 0.85, beyond which bifacial modules provide superior annual energy performance compared with monofacial modules.
Keywords
Ground reflectivity
Rear-side irradiance
Albedo transition threshold
Performance ratio
Cool roof strategy
Energy yield modeling
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Journal of Solar Energy Research
Volume 11, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 3937-3951