Versatile high-fidelity photovoltaic module emulation system

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) cells are promising endurable renewable power sources that do not include mechanical components, which are subject to wear and tear. However, actual development of a solar-powered system requires elaborated design processes to find the best setup including location determination and development of a maximum power point tracking method, which requires numerous on-site experiments. This paper introduces a versatile PV module emulation system, which can cover a range of different PV modules and environmental conditions. We provide an accurate parameter characterization methodology with nonlinear curve fitting to minimize the model discrepancy over the entire operating range. The proposed PV module emulation system includes a pilot PV cell, temperature sensors, an accelerometer, and a magnetic sensor, and provides features for the PV module characterization and emulation modes. Experimental results show significant improvement in the emulation accuracy, which comes from the advanced PV module characterization method as well as high-precision hardware and control.