Analytical modelling and experimental validation of the I-V characteristics of a polycristalline type of photovoltaic panel

Photovoltaic cells are energy conversion systems that convert the electromagnetic energy coming from the sun to electrical energy. In this study, based on an experimental facility, incorporating a polycrystalline photovoltaic panel made up of 36 cells, various sensors and a data logger device, located at the coordinates of 40°42'52.2"N, 31°31'29.8"E, the followings are aimed; i) investigation of the effect of solar radiation intensity on the photovoltaic panel, ii) investigation of the current-voltage characteristics of the photovoltaic panel, and iii) comparison of the current-voltage curves measured from the photovoltaic panel with those obtained from the models available in the literature and thus validation. The current-voltage characteristics of the photovoltaic panel measured at different solar radiation and temperature levels have presently been modelled and validated using a total of 4 different analytical models namely, 4-parameter, 5-parameter, improved 4-parameter and 2-diode models. The equations defining the current-voltage relationship have been solved using Visual Basic programming language. The comparison between the results obtained from the solutions of the models and those measured has been made based on the statistical parameters of R² and RMSE. The statistical analysis of the results obtained has shown that amongst the 4 different models used in the present thesis, the improved 4-parameter model leads to better estimation results than the other models used.