Design of Photovoltaic Solar Cell Model for Stand

alone Renewable System

Martin Gahid, Pavol Spanik
University of Zilina
Department of Mechatronics and Electronics
Zilina, Slovakia
e-mail: martin. galad@fel. uniza. sk
e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

In the future, more and more pressure will be given

on renewable smart applications. One type of renewable energy is

II.

the solar energy. A photovoltaic solar cell or a module is often

used in mobile applications as energy source.

More and more

A.

applications are covered with solar cell or module as the energy

source. A simple and accurate mathematical model that describes
day dynamic development. The paper deals with the proposal of
a model of PV solar cell and module. Proposed model is verified
by the simulation using Matlab. The influence of the temperature
and the solar irradiation on photovoltaic module is investigated
and compared to the I-V characteristics of photovoltaic solar
module Sharp, that were used as a source of the photovoltaic cell
parameters. Proposed model can be used in research as a part of
a simulation of stand-alone power system.
mathematical

model,

renewable

Cell

There are many types of the equivalent PV solar cell

circuits. These circuits are differing only by the number of the
circuit components. The simplest one is the single diode
equivalent circuit of the PV solar cell contains a current source
connected in parallel with a diode, a series Rs and a parallel
(shunt) Rs" resistance. The series resistance is an important
parameter, especially for irradiances and cell temperatures far
from the reference condition. The equivalent circuit is shown
in Fig. 1 [ 1], [2], [3], [4], [5].

properties of the photovoltaic solar cell is required for present

Keywords

PV Solar

MATHEMATICAL MODE L

energy,

photovoltaic solar cell, module, simulation, Matlab, equivalent

circuit.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Renewable energy has not only a big potential in mobile

technologies. Shortly, the miniaturizing resources of fossil
fuels, as coal, oil and gas, will increase the portion of
renewable energy usage in the world. It is free, clean and
sustainable source of electrical energy [3].
Photovoltaic (PV) solar power is the one of the most
potential renewable energy source, especially in mobile
applications. In the past, PV energy was used in the space
industry or in calculators. Research in the last decades has
increased the efficiency of PV solar cell. A new concept is the
thin-film technology. In this case, the PV solar cell is made by
one or more thin layers on substrate. More layers allow higher
usage of the solar spectrum. Today, the highest efficiency 44.7
% of PV cell was demonstrated by Fraunhofer Institute for
Solar Energy Systems [7]. Nowadays, a solar power is used as
the energy source in the grid connected power systems, the
battery chargers or the street lighting [6], [9], [ 10].
The voltage and current output values of the PV cell are
mainly depended on the solar irradiation, on the cell
temperature, on the cell materials, on the cell position
considering to the sun and shadows or on the cloudiness [2],
[6].

978-1-4799-3721-9/14/$31.00 mOl41EEE

Fig. 1. Equivalent circuit of PV solar cell.

For the ideal condition, Rs is very small (Rs = 0) and Rsh is

very large (Rsh = (0 ) . Then, the Circuit is described by
Kirchhoffs current law equation:
( 1)
I - Output current of solar cell,
Id - Diode current,
Iph - Light-generated current.
The diode current is described by Shockley diode equation:

(2)
10 - The diode leakage current density in the absence of light,
q - Electron charge,
U - Voltage of solar cell,

285

n - Ideality factor,
k - Boltzmann's constant,
T - Temperature of the PV cell.
Where the leakage current 10 is:

Io = I

sc

J
[ ]

Qlc'g

e --;;;k
Tf

[I lJ
l'f --:;

(3)
_0

re

- Short circuit current of the PV cell,

Tr f - Reference temperature,
e
Eg - Band gap energy of the semiconductor.
Isc

Iph =

rjJ ( I

I'll ,
Y'ref

scr

'

sc

T-T

ef

))

5 --------

:'

---------

_________

_________

---------r

---------

---------

---------r-

L ________
-------

_______

L __

-------

--------

_____

I
-------r---

IV]

Io = I

sc

3
[ ]

Tf

(6)

qlc'g

nN,k

[I I J

(7)

l'f --:;

re

--

------------

- - - - - - - - --

10

(5)

------r_--,_-- ,
15 -iMPP:::-:::-:::--:::-r::--:::-:::-:::-- - :::-:::-:::--:::-:::-:::- ,
,

---------

Equations of the PV module are based on PV solar cell

equations ( 1-4). Numbers of cells in parallel Np or in series Ns
are added.

20 ,-------,---,

--------

---------

12

Fig, 3, Number of cells influence on output parameters,

The theoretical I-V characteristic of the PV solar cell is

shown in Fig. 2. The maximum power point voltage Umpp and
the maximum power point current Impp are defining the point
of the maximum power output [2].

10

14

UO

(4)

- Solar irradiation,
<l>ref - Reference solar irradiation,
Uisc - Short circuit current temperature coefficient of the PV
cell,
Iscr - Short circuit current of the PV cell at reference
temperature.

---------

O L--------L----
1,5
0,5
a

<l>

16

MPP

:, I
:1 I

rjJ (

Iph = cA'e!, I
-

----------

- - - - - - _ - ________

scr

+ a,'

sc

T-T f
re

))

(8)

The influence of number of cells on equivalent circuit

components is shown in Fig. 4.

o --------
o
10
20

Uo [V]

Fig, 2, Theoretical I-V characteristics of PV solar cell

B.

PV Module

and Array

The output power of the one single PV solar cell is very

small value from 0,5 to 0,6 V. In the practice, the PV solar cell
is used very occasionally. Mostly, the PV modules are be
used. The cells can be organized in series or in parallel. The
number of the cells defines the output voltage and current of
the PV solar module. The PV Module output voltage is
increased by increase the number of the cells connections in
series and output current is increased by increase the number
of the cells connections in parallel. This procedure is shown in
Fig. 3.

Fig. 4. Cells influence on PV solar module equivalent circuit components.

The highest output power can be achieved by a PV array

that is created by the connection of two or more PV modules.

286

III.

SIMULATION

The proposed mathematical model of the PV solar panel

was verified by the simulation. The technical specifications of
the PV solar module Sharp NU-24S(JS) 24SWp were used [8].
Technical details and I-V characteristics of Sharp module are
shown in Fig. S.
12
11

Solar module Sharp

NU-24S(JS) 24SWp
Ns=60
Np=O
Uoc=37,SV
Isc=8,73A
Umpp=30,SV
Impp=8,04A
Noct=47,SoC
U;sc=0,OS3

10

1,000

c:

} /

6 600 (W m2

:::l 5
U

2
1

::\

/
">
/
,

400 (W

\\
\

...... ' "

//// ---

10

Voltage (V)

30

20

---

260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20

h
\

.......

Ym /
200 r,N,:r,2)/

/
/

cJv1m2)

800 (W/m2)

...

I
I

40

------1
1

::-

-0

---

=800Wm-2

---

=800Wm-2

---

=04 0Wm-2

---

=02 0Wm-2

10

1
________ 1 ___
1
1
_____
1 1
________
L ___

15

20
UO IVI

25

30

35

40

250 ir=======-- -'---'---'--- r

---- =01 00wm-2

---- =800Wrri2
---- =600Wrri2
---- =04 0Wrri2

Current V$, voltage

Power V$, voltage

--- , ---- , ---

- - j - - - - - - - -

200

1 ---- 1-1

=2_ 0 Wrri2__: _

100

1
---1----

I
___ -' ____ L ___

____ L ____I ____ ___

--- -j----c- ---

- - - - t- ----1 - - - - + ----1----

----------

50

20
Uo IVI

25

30

35

40

1 2 ----,---,----,--====
---T=60c
---T=54 C
1
---T=30C
10 - - - + - - - --+ ----1--------

____

- ------,---8 ,- -,- ---- ---+- 4

- -4,---------,-

- - - , - - - - cc

15

Fig, 8, Solar irradiation P-V characteristics,

300 --_r----,---_,----_r--,_--
_I ____ 1.- ___

10

Uo [V]

200

--- 1c 1

1
___
_

--5----0-----L5 ----20-----L2 5 ----30-----3L540

100

=0
1 00Wm-2

-----,------,---,

0L-

0..

---

Fig, 7, Solar irradiation I-V characteristics,

150

1
_I________ 1 ___
1
1
1

Simulated I-V characteristic of PV module is in Fig. 6.

Results were very accurate compared to I-V characteristics
from datasheet in Fig. S.
1

1
1
1
- ----1 - - - "I - -I

Fig, 5, Sharp NU-245(J5) 245Wp specifications and I-V characteristics,

1
1
1
- ----1 - - - "I - - - I
I

---1- - - - r ----1- - - - ----1T

-------------------

---1c--- '-------r ---r --- '

o ________-L_______L_______L
0
30
3
25
20
o
5
1
15
5
40

Uo [V]

Fig, 6, Simulated PV module I-V and P-V characteristics,

The verified mathematical model has been used for other

simulation, where operational conditions were changed. The
solar irradiance was changed in the range from 200 to 1000
Wm-2. The simulated waveforms of the output current and the
power are in Fig. 7 and 8. With the increase of irradiation, the
output current rises and, the open circuit voltage becomes
partially smaller. The maximum power point was much
smaller with the decrease of the solar irradiation.

--- --- ----- ----LO ---- -----LO

52
0
5
51
0
40
53
3
2
1
Uo IVI
Fig, 9, Temperature I-V characteristics,

The simulation of the influence of temperature on the PV

solar module has been also simulated. The temperature of the
PV module was changed in the range from 0 to 60C. The
simulated I-V characteristics showed that with the increase of

287

the temperature, the decrease of the output current and the

increase of the open circuit voltage is visible. Simulated
results are shown in Fig. 9 and 10.
250
---

02 0

----

T=60C
T=54 C
T=03 C
T=51 C
O
T=C

150

[4]

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Stand-Alone PV System," Ris0 National Laboratory, Roskilde,
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O --L-----
o
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40

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Uo [V]

Fig. 10. Temperature P-V characteristics.

IV.

CONCLUSION

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The usage of PV solar energy is growing in the world. The

main disadvantage is the dependence on weather conditions.
Mathematical model was proposed to simulate this
dependence. This model of the PV solar module was based on
fundamental circuit equations of PV solar cell. Simulations in
Matlab were used for verification. The accuracy of the model
was confirmed by comparison between the Sharp NU-245(J5)
245Wp datasheet and the simulated I-V characteristics. The
influence of the temperature and the solar irradiation was
investigated. The solar irradiation influence was bigger than
temperature especially when we focus on the decrease of the
solar irradiation. The impact on the output power was much
heavier. The proposed simple model of the PV solar module is
enough accurate and shall be used for development and
simulation of a stand-alone power system.

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Converters for Voltage and Current DC Power Sources," Acta
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors wish to thank to Slovak grant agency APVV

for project no. APVV -0433-12 - Research and development of
intelligent system for wireless energy transfer in
electromobility application.
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