1.2.

2 Development of Low-Cost I–V Tracer Technologies

Manuel Cáceres et al Solar photovoltaic technologies have undergone significant scientific
development. To ensure the transfer of knowledge through the training of qualified
personnel, didactic tools that can be acquired or built at a reasonable price are needed.
Most training and research centres have restrictions on acquiring specific equipment due
to its high cost. With this in mind, this article presents the development and transfer of a
low-cost I–V curve tracer acquisition system. The device is made up of embedded
systems with all the necessary hardware and software for its operation. The hardware
and software presented are open source and have a low cost, i.e., the estimated
material cost of the system is less than 200 euros. For its development, four institutions
from three different countries participated in the project. Three photovoltaic technologies
were used to measure the uncertainties related to the equipment developed. In addition,
the system can be transferred for use as an academic or research tool, as long as the
measurement does not need to be certified. Two accredited laboratories have certified
the low uncertainties in the measurement of the proposed system.

Prototype version used for the developed experimental campaign.

 Normalized I–V curve of a photovoltaic device.

(2) ABSTRACT:-This paper outlines a novel design of low-cost, portable, fast, and precise Current-Voltage
Curve Tracer (IVCT) with automated parameter extraction for high power rated Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) modules
to effectively and efficiently determine the outdoor operating status of SPV power generators. The developed
IVCT is based on a Raspberry Pi microprocessor, a super-capacitive load, heat sinkable discharge resistances,
and sensors with high sensitivity and resolution for measuring light irradiance, module temperature, current, and
voltage. The proposed Outdoor Test Facility (OTF) consists of an Current-Voltage ( I-V) and a Power-Voltage ( P-
V) curve tracer that uses a dynamic loading supercapacitor to safely and quickly scan the SPV module
performance characteristics under real-world operating conditions. It also helps to achieve uniform sampling with
better data accuracy. It uses Raspberry Pi as a central processing unit for low-cost data acquisition, data logging,
and data computation. Furthermore, results from on-field testing of various small-scale SPV modules show that
the I-V tracer can acquire higher-resolution characteristics curves and perform accurate model parameter
recognition in real-time. Proposed IVCT can measure individual SPV modules without altering the electrical
interconnection circuit, and the operating point can be shifted to 20 A and 45 V in few seconds. The proposed
system recomposes the SPV module I-V characteristics based on this variance, with accuracies of 1 to 3% for
the region near maximum power.

Javed Sayyad

[Link]
 Electronic component based block diagram of IVCT design prototype

Captured I−V plots using proposed IVCT for the different light radiance
Captured P−V plots using proposed IVCT for the different light radiance.

(3) Abstract :-This article presents the realization of a low-cost I-V curve tracer especially
designed for solar panels. The proposed design is a low-cost implementation of an I-V tracer
capable of producing a number of traces automatically within a fraction of second. It is based on
an open-source platform with an embedded microcontroller that integrates contemporary
technologies for power consumption and measurement together with networking technologies for
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication. This implementation can be embedded in solar
panels aiming to the optimization of solar energy production by providing an in-situ solar panel
characterization system. Details about the analysis and design methodology for the developed
portable tracer are presented with preliminary results.

P. Papageorgas at al

doi: 10.1016/[Link].2015.07.641
The MQTT Publish-subscribe concept in the Polytropon Platform for PV panel characterization

The top-hierarchical level of the automatic PV I-V tracer

 Extracting the I-V curves using a Constant Voltage electronic load.

(4) Abstract
The measurement of current–voltage (I-V) curves of single photovoltaic (PV) modules is at
this moment the most powerful technique regarding the monitoring and diagnostics of PV
plants, providing accurate information about the possible failures or degradation at the
module level. Automating these measurements and allowing them to be made online is
strongly desirable in order to conceive a systematic tracking of plant health. Currently, I-V
tracers present some drawbacks, such as being only for the string level, working offline, or
being expensive. Facing this situation, the authors have developed two different low-cost
online I-V tracers at the individual module level, which could allow for a cost-affordable
future development of a fully automated environment for the tracking of the plant status.
The first system proposed implements a completely distributed strategy, since all the
electronics required for the I-V measurement are located within each of the modules and
can be executed without a power line interruption. The second one uses a mixed strategy,
where some common electronics are moved from PV modules to the inverter or combiner
box and need an automated very short disconnection of the modules string under
measurement. Experiments show that both strategies allow the tracing of individual panel
I-V curves and sending of the data afterwards in numerical form to a central host with a
minimum influence on the power production and with a low-cost design due to the
simplicity of the electronics. A comparison between both strategies is exposed, and their
costs are compared with the previous systems proposed in the literature, obtaining cost
reductions of over 80–90% compared with actual commercial traces.

José Ignacio Morales-Aragonés at al

[Link]

Picture of the electronic board installed in PV modules for the distributed strategy.

(5) Abstract— This paper presents new developments of a robust and low-cost instrument
—less than 600 €—for monitoring and processing I-V and P-V characteristics of
photovoltaic (PV) modules and high voltage strings. The characteristics can be traced on an
oscilloscope or using a developed a LabVIEW application. It is a simple instrument because
only fundamental electronic circuits are used. The equipment consists of a flexible
configuration, developed from a previous work, based on a fast varying load based on a
power MOSFET. The MOSFET was controlled by means of suitable gate-source voltage
control signal in order to improve the tracing of I-V and P-V characteristics on an
oscilloscope. The contribution of this work includes new developments of a previous I-V
tracer in order to be use with high voltage strings and a low-cost DAQ monitoring system
based on two applications developed in LabVIEW—one for PV modules and the other for
PV strings. On the other hand, the robustness for high voltage strings was strongly
improved in view of field tests for fault diagnosis analysis. Experimental results obtained
with the new instrument are presented with modules and different strings available with
voltages up to 1000 volt.

Vicente Leite at al

[Link]

Electronic circuit for I-V and P-V tracing of photovoltaic modules and strings.

1.2.3 Parameter Extraction and Diagnostic Applications

(1) Abstract:- Beyond meeting power demand, switching to solar energy especially solar
photovoltaic (PV) offers many advantages like modularity, minimal maintenance, pollution
free, and zero noise. Yet, its cell modeling is critical in design, simulation analysis, evaluation,
and control of solar PV system; most importantly to tap its maximum potential. However,
precise PV cell modeling is complicated by PV nonlinearity, presence of large unknown
model parameter, and absence of a unique method. Since number of model parameters
involved is directly related to model accuracy, and efficiency; determination of its values
assume high priority. Besides, application of meta-heuristic algorithms via numerical
extraction is popular as it suits for any PV cell/module types and operating conditions.
However, existence of many algorithms have drawn attention toward assessment of each
method based on its merits, demerits, suitability/ability to parameter estimation problem,
and complexity involved. Hence, few authors reviewed the subject of PV model parameter
estimation. But existing reviews focused on comparative analysis of analytical and meta-
heuristic approaches, analysis of models, and application of meta-heuristic methods for
model parameter extraction. Thus, lack a comprehensive analysis on methods based on
different objective function, assessment on environmental conditions, and cumulative
analysis on selective set of algorithm based on efficiency. Therefore, this work reviews
optimization algorithms presented for parameter estimation focusing on (a) objective
function used, (b) modeling type, (c) algorithm employed for parameter extraction, and (d)
PV technology. Further, provides a comprehensive assessment on various modules types
used for validation, comparisons made with methods, advantages and disadvantages
associated with each method with respect to parameter estimation platform, critical analysis
on each method at STC, and varying irradiance conditions. In addition, a critical evaluation
on specific set of algorithm based on objective function values is also carried out. Thus
explores and display the characteristics of various techniques related to PV cell modeling
and serve to be a single reference for researchers working in the field of PV parameter
estimation.

[Link]

Radhakrishnan Venkateswari
Formation of photovoltaic (PV) cell, module, and an array
Generations of photovoltaic (PV) growth
Process involved in photovoltaic modeling and its parameter estimation

Efficiency of various photovoltaic (PV) materials