Solar Panel Selection

Solar panel selection - In a typical module, 36 cells are connected in series to produce a voltage
sufficient to charge a 12V battery
The voltage from the PV module is determined by the number of solar cells and the
current from the module depends primarily on the size of the solar cells. At AM1.5 and
under optimum tilt conditions, the current density from a commercial solar cell is
approximately between 30 mA/cm2 to 36 mA/cm2. Single crystal solar cells are often
15.6 × 15.6 cm2, giving a total current of almost 9 – 10A from a module.
The table below shows the output of typical modules at STC. I MP and ISC do not change
that much but VMP and VOC scale with the number of cells in the module.
Cells PMAX VMPP IMPP VOCISC Efficiency

9.35
72 340 Wp 37.9 V 8.97 A 47.3 V 17.5%
A
9.38
60 280 Wp 31.4 V 8.91 A 39.3 V 17.1%
A
9.35
36 170 Wp 19.2 V 8.85 A 23.4 V 17%
A
In a larger PV array, individual PV modules are connected in both series and parallel. A series-
connected set of solar cells or modules is called a "string". The combination of series and
parallel connections may lead to several problems in PV arrays.
If all the solar cells in a module have identical electrical characteristics, and they all
experience the same insolation and temperature, then all the cells will be operating at
exactly the same current and voltage. In this case, the IV curve of the PV module has
the same shape as that of the individual cells, except that the voltage and current are
increased. The equation for the circuit becomes:
where:
N is the number of cells in series;
M is the number of cells in parallel;
IT is the total current from the circuit;
VT is the total voltage from the circuit;
I0 is the saturation current from a single solar cell;
IL is the short-circuit current from a single solar cell;
n is the ideality factor of a single solar cell;
and q, k, and T are constants as given in the constants page.
When cells in series increases – voltage increases
When cells in parallel increases – current increases
The overall IV curve of a set of identical connected solar cells is shown below. The total
current is simply the current of an individual cell multiplied by the number of cells in
parallel. Such that: ISC total = ISC × M. The total voltage is the voltage of an individual
cell multiplied but the number of cells in series. Such that:
ISC(total)=ISC(cell)×M
IMP(total)=IMP(cell)×M
VOC(total)=VOC(cell)×N
VMP(total)=VMP(cell)×N
If the cells are identical then the fill factor does not change when the cells are in parallel
or series. However, there is usually mismatch in the cells so the fill factor is lower when
the cells are combined. The cell mismatch may come from manufacturing or from
differences in light on the cells where one cell has more light than another.
Cost estimation
A Solar PV system design can be done in four steps:
 Load estimation
 Estimation of number of PV panels

 Estimation of battery bank
 Cost estimation of the system.
 Base condition:2 CFLs(18 watts each),2 fans (60 watts each) for 6hrs a day. 
The total energy requirement of the system (total load) i.e Total connected load to PV panel
system = No. of units × rating of equipment = 2 × 18 + 2 × 60 = 156 watts 
Total watt-hours rating of the system = Total connected load (watts) × Operating hours = 156 × 6
= 936 watt-hours
Actual power output of a PV panel = Peak power rating × operating factor = 40 × 0.75 = 30 watt

The power used at the end use is less (due to lower combined efficiency of the system = Actual
power output of a panel × combined efficiency = 30 × 0.81 = 24.3 watts (VA) = 24.3 watts 
Energy produced by one 40 Wp panel in a day = Actual power output × 8 hours/day (peak
equivalent) = 24.3 × 8 = 194.4 watts-hour 
Number of solar panels required to satisfy given estimated daily load: = (Total watt-hour rating
(daily load)/(Daily energy produced by a panel) =936/194.4 = 4.81 = 5 (round figure) 
Inverter size is to be calculated as:
 Total connected load to PV panel system = 156 watts
 Inverter are available with rating of 100, 200, 500 VA, etc.
 Therefore, the choice of the inverter should be 200 VA.
Assumptions
Inverter converts DC into AC power with efficiency of about 90%.
 Battery voltage used for operation = 12 volts
 The combined efficiency of inverter and battery will be calculated as: combined efficiency =
inverter efficiency × battery efficiency = 0.9 × 0.9 = 0.81 = 81%
 Sunlight available in a day = 8 hours/day (equivalent of peak radiation.

 Operation of lights and fan = 6 hours/day of PV panels.
Operation of lights and fan = 6 hours/day of PV panels.
 PV panel power rating = 40 Wp (Wp, meaning, watt (peak), gives only peak power output of a
PV panel)  A factor called „ operating factor‟ is used to estimate the actual output from a PV
module. [The operating factor between 0.60 and 0.90 (implying the output power is 60 to 80%
lower than rated output power) in normal operating conditions, depending on temperature, dust
on module, etc.]
The paper is organized as follows:
 Characteristics of the PV array under normal and partial shading conditions.

 Section 3 presents the general principle of the MPPT methods.
 Section 4 presents the methodology of this work.
 Section 5 presents the most challenges of MPPT methods.
2 conditions – Normal Condition and Partial Shading Condition
PV Array Characteristics under Normal Condition

Basically, the output of any PV solar system can be defined as a function of the ambient
temperature (T), the solar irradiance (E), the incidence angle, and the spectrum of
sunlight [72].
There are two equivalent models that used to represent any PV module output, single
diode models (SDMs) and double diode models (DDMs) [73]. SDMs [74-78], are easy
and simple
To implement because they require fewer computations compared with DDMs.

Therefore, they are widely used in the PV cell presentation.
DDMs also preferable for PV modeling because they have better accuracy to predict the
PV system performance [79-82].
DDMs approach requires a complex calculation makes it a less popular method. The
equivalent circuit of the PV cell using an SDM is shown in Fig. 1.
The mathematical modelling can be given as [83- 85]
Since DDM requires double diodes, therefore the calculations are way more complex.
Therefore SDM is selected
Equivalent circuit of a PV cell is,
𝐼𝑝ℎ = [ 𝑝ℎ,𝑛 + 𝐾𝐼 × Δ𝑇 ] 𝐸 𝐸𝑛 (2)
𝐼𝑝𝑣 = 𝑁𝑝 ( 𝑝ℎ − 𝐼0 [ exp ( 𝑞 ( 𝑉𝑝𝑣 + 𝑅𝑠𝐼𝑝𝑣) 𝑁𝑠𝐴𝑘𝑇 ) − 1 ] − ( 𝑉𝑝𝑣 + 𝑅𝑠𝐼𝑝𝑣) 𝑁𝑠𝑅𝑝 ) (3)
𝑃𝑝𝑣 = 𝑉𝑝𝑣 × 𝑁𝑝 ( 𝑝ℎ − 𝐼0 exp ( 𝑞𝑉𝑝𝑣 𝑁𝑠𝐴𝑘𝑇 ) − 𝑉𝑝𝑣 𝑁𝑠 ) .
where I0 is the diode saturation current (A), KI is the current temperature coefficient, ΔT is the
temperature difference between cell temperature and ambient temperature (C°), Isc is the PV short
circuit current (A), Voc PV open-circuit voltage (V), KV is the voltage temperature coefficient, Rs is the
series resistance (Ω), RP is the parallel resistance (Ω), Ns is the number of PV cells connected in series, A
is the P-N junction ideality factor, T is the cell temperature (C°), Iph is the photocurrent (A), E is the in
plane solar irradiance, En is the reference solar irradiance i.e. 1kw/m2, Np is the number of PV cells
connected in parallel, k Boltzmann constant (1.38 × 10−23𝐽∕𝐾), and q Electron charge (1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)
Characteristic two curves –P-V and I-V curves are constant under uniform irradiance
Uniform irradiance = uniform condition
PS conditions
Several causes causing PS such as moving clouds, buildings, trees, etc[89, 90]. The period of the shading
caused by clouds varies from four seconds to 1.5 hours [91]. The period of the shading caused by the
trees and buildings varies based on the size and the location.
Maximum power can be gained using – MPPT controller
The main function of MPP trackers is to guarantee to find the MPP rapidly with less converging time, less
oscillation, high accuracy to optimize the energy generation. Finding the MPP can be achieved by search
or calculation. The curve of the behavior of the PV power can be written as
Nowadays, all the installed PV systems are equipped with an MPPT controller. The main
function of MPP trackers is to guarantee to find the MPP rapidly with less converging time, less
oscillation, high accuracy to optimize the energy generation. Finding the MPP can be achieved
by search or calculation. The curve of the behavior of the PV power can be written as [98]:
𝑃𝑃 𝑉 (𝑡) = 𝐹 ( 𝑉𝑃 𝑉 (𝑡), 𝐼𝑃 𝑉 (𝑡), 𝛾(𝑡) )

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Solar panel selection - In a typical module, 36 cells are connected in series to produce a voltage

sufficient to charge a 12V battery

Cells PMAX VMPP IMPP VOCISC Efficiency

When cells in series increases – voltage increases

When cells in parallel increases – current increases

A Solar PV system design can be done in four steps:

 Estimation of number of PV panels

 Cost estimation of the system.

Inverter size is to be calculated as:

 Total connected load to PV panel system = 156 watts

 Therefore, the choice of the inverter should be 200 VA.

Inverter converts DC into AC power with efficiency of about 90%.

 Battery voltage used for operation = 12 volts

 Sunlight available in a day = 8 hours/day (equivalent of peak radiation.

Operation of lights and fan = 6 hours/day of PV panels.

The paper is organized as follows:

 Characteristics of the PV array under normal and partial shading conditions.

2 conditions – Normal Condition and Partial Shading Condition

PV Array Characteristics under Normal Condition

To implement because they require fewer computations compared with DDMs.

𝐼𝑝𝑣 = 𝑁𝑝 ( 𝑝ℎ − 𝐼0 [ exp ( 𝑞 ( 𝑉𝑝𝑣 + 𝑅𝑠𝐼𝑝𝑣) 𝑁𝑠𝐴𝑘𝑇 ) − 1 ] − ( 𝑉𝑝𝑣 + 𝑅𝑠𝐼𝑝𝑣) 𝑁𝑠𝑅𝑝 ) (3)

𝑃𝑝𝑣 = 𝑉𝑝𝑣 × 𝑁𝑝 ( 𝑝ℎ − 𝐼0 exp ( 𝑞𝑉𝑝𝑣 𝑁𝑠𝐴𝑘𝑇 ) − 𝑉𝑝𝑣 𝑁𝑠 ) .

Uniform irradiance = uniform condition

Maximum power can be gained using – MPPT controller

𝑃𝑃 𝑉 (𝑡) = 𝐹 ( 𝑉𝑃 𝑉 (𝑡), 𝐼𝑃 𝑉 (𝑡), 𝛾(𝑡) )

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