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1. INTRODUCTION
The characterisation of a PV module by a single number
has an attractive simplicity. It has become accepted to rate
the PV module according to its maximum power at
1000 W/m2, 25 C and spectral distribution according to
AM1.5, Standard Test Conditions, STC. However, at other
temperatures and lighting conditions the efficiency at
which energy is converted into electricity is different from
the module efficiency at STC, see [1]. As the buyer is
mostly interested in the energy produced during a certain
period, various attempts have been made to provide the
necessary information for these calculations. Typically,
this means that the response of the PV module or the PV
system to specific meteorological conditions is determined. However the chosen meteorological conditions at
the same time limit the usefulness of these approaches in
cases of locations where modules operate under different
conditions.
The aim of this article is to search for an adequate characterisation of the behaviour of a PV module under various
meteorological conditions, which will allow an adequate
estimation of the energy collection by the module. The
characterisation is done by fitting experimentally determined I-V curves of a PV module by the so-called twodiode model. The two-diode model parameters can be
linked to physical properties of the cell. It will be investigated how well these parameters can predict the behaviour
of the PV module under field conditions.
I01
I02
Rse
Rsh
I (V ) =
V*
V*
V*
+ I01 exp 1 + I02 exp
1 + Ilt
Rsh
Vb
2Vb
Here I01 and I02 are the diode saturation currents, Ilt the
light generated current, Vb the thermal voltage and Rse and
Rsh are the series and shunt resistances. V* is the voltage
over the diodes and is given by V*=V-Rse I(V). The twodiode model can be applied to single cells and to PV
modules, where a number of cells is connected in series.
This equivalent circuit is based on the assumptions that
Eg (T )
I 01 = K1 T 3 exp
kT
E g (T )
exp
2kT
where Eg(T) is the temperature dependence of the bandgap. The strong temperature dependence of the parameters
I01 and I02 makes it necessary to perform accurate measurements of the cell temperature in the experiments. The
inaccuracy of the model parameters as determined by the
fit of cell and module IV curves is around 7%.
3. MEASUREMENTS ON PV CELLS
In outdoor experiments variations in the irradiance lead
automatically to changes in the module temperature. In the
laboratory the temperature and the irradiance can be controlled. For this reason the IV curves of single solar cells
were measured to investigate the dependences on temperature and irradiance and to determine the effect on the twodiode model parameters. For this experiment a single
unincapsulated cell similar to the ones in the PV modules
to be tested was available. The IV characteristics were
measured with a solar simulator. By means of grey filters
the light intensity incident on the cells could be varied
without changing the spectral composition of the light. By
changing the temperature setpoint of the cooling chuck on
which the cell was placed the cell temperature could be
varied between 19 C and 31C.
Measurement
1 Z
T = 25 C
Z T
I 02 = K 2 T
2 .5
TC(part / C ) =
1.6
Irr. vs I01
Irr. vs I02
Irr. vs Rsh
Irr. vs Rse
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Irradiance, W/m2
#1
19.0
#2
24.9
#3
29.6
I01, 10-10, A
0.771
2.834
0.691
0.765
2.837
1.88
0.761
2.848
3.95
4. MEASUREMENTS ON PV MODULES
I02, 10-5, A
0.690
1.03
1.42
Temp., C
FF
Ilt, A
Rsh,
13.9
14.0
14.5
Rse, m
0.94
1.99
2.06
0.4
5e-10
measured data
3e-10
Series resistance,
I 01 , A
4e-10
temperature
corrected data
2e-10
1e-10
0
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
200
400
Irradiance, W/m2
temperature
corrected data
I02 , A
1.2e-5
1.0e-5
8.0e-6
6.0e-6
4.0e-6
2.0e-6
0.0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Irradiance, W/m2
Shunt resistance,
700
600
500
400
By means of temporarily covering the module it was possible to control the module temperature. In this manner IV
curves were measured at 42C and 24C. Table II shows
the measured IV characteristics and their two-diode model
parameters. The STC short circuit current for the module
was determined to be 2.962 A at JRC-Ispra. The data in
the column calculated are determined on basis of the two
measured IV curves and their model parameters. Only the
value for the light generated current Ilt was set as to obtain
the JRC value for the short circuit current Isc , I01 and I02
are the values extrapolated to 25C. Good agreement is
observed between the two simulated IV curves, indicating
that curve fitting to the two-diode model can be a reliable
technique for the transformation of IV curves to different
conditions, [6].
measured
#1
#2
24.2
42.0
calculated
#1
#2
25.0
25.0
I01, 10-10, A
2.945
21.44
0.738
2.946
1.62
2.999
20.14
0.719
3.001
25.0
2.962
21.47
0.739
2.965
1.85
2.962
21.50
0.739
2.965
1.70
I02, 10-5, A
0.753
2.41
0.807
0.594
Rsh,
350
301
350
301
Rse, m
328
369
328
369
number
200
200
400
600
800
1200
300
1000
For the single cell at 25C it was seen that I02 did depend
on the irradiance. The shunt resistance shows for all four
modules a marked dependence on the irradiance: its value
increases at low light levels. The increase in modules is
larger than the one observed for the cell. The series resistance is also seen to be a function of the irradiance, it
decreases at low light levels. The series resistance of the
module corrected for the number of cells is larger than that
observed for the single cell. This could be caused by the
interconnection of the cells. In contrast to the cell measurements no dependence on the temperature is observed.
measured data
1.4e-5
800
Irradiance, W/m2
600
1000
1200
Irradiance, W/m2
Temp., C
Isc, A
Voc, V
FF
Ilt, A
When the efficiency of a module as a function of the irradiance is known, as well as the temperature coefficient of
the Maximum Power Point, it is possible to calculate the
annual energy collection for a module at a specific location. The calculations are performed for a module temperature of 25C.
14
measured
data
Efficiency, %
12
10
constant
parameters
6
4
0
200
400
De Bilt
1074
138.3
129.8
129.6
Cagliari
1854
238.9
232.0
232.0
125.6
228.0
variable
parameters
Location
Hi,ref
Ea with constant STC efficiency
Ea with measured efficiency
Ea with efficiency
for Rsh (G), Rse(G)
Ea, with efficiency
forRsh,Rse=k
600
800
1000
1200
Irradiance, W/m2
6. CONCLUSIONS
For this set of multicrystalline modules the two-diode
model fit is a useful way of characterising the IV curves.
The temperature dependence of the diode saturation currents can be used for determining the behaviour of the
module as a function of temperature. The shunt and series
resistances of the model are found to depend on the irradiance. The efficiency as a function of the irradiance can be
calculated with a fair degree of accuracy from the STC IV
curve. Low irradiance losses however are determined with
low accuracy. It remains to be investigated how well this
model can describe IV curves of silicon based PV modules
in general, especially at low level irradiances.
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been funded by the Netherlands Agency for
Energy and the Environment Novem under contract
nr. 146.100-032.4.
8. REFERENCES
[1] K. Bcher, 13-th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy
conference and Exhibition, Nice (1995) 2097
[2] A.R. Burgers, J.A. Eikelboom, A. Schnecker and
W.C. Sinke, 25-th IEEE PVSC (1996) 569
[3] J. Beier, Thesis Universitt Freiburg, 1992
[4] G.L. Araujo, E. Snchez, M. Marti, Solar Cells, 5
(1982) 199
[5] W. Knaup, 22nd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Confer
ence, Las Vegas (1991) 620
[6] S. Coors and M. Bhm, Zwlftes Symposium Photovoltaische Solarenergie, Staffelstein (1997) 314
kWh/m2