A Comparative Analysis of the Main Methods for Tracing PV Characteristic Curve Through Experimental Tests

Abstract

In recent years, many different techniques for inspecting and diagnosing photovoltaic (PV) cells and PV modules in laboratories have been evaluated in detail. Most of them consist of analysis by obtaining the characteristic curve of the PV source. Several methods of obtaining current and voltage PV curves are addressed in the literature. However, they still do not address the experimental aspects of implementation and the obtained results from these methods. This paper consists of a comparative analysis of the main methods of obtaining PV cells' current vs voltage characteristic curves, observing the following aspects that characterize their effectiveness: flexibility, fidelity, and response time to trace the curve, complexity, cost of implementation, and applicability. The main methods analyzed in this project are variable resistance, electronic load, capacitive load, and DC-DC converters.