Solar irradiance and temperature influence on the photovoltaic cell equivalent-circuit models

• Published in: Solar energy 2019-08, Vol.188, p.1102-1110
• Main Authors: Chaibi, Y., Allouhi, A., Malvoni, M., Salhi, M., Saadani, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric models; Cell culture; Circuits; Climatic conditions; Climatic zones; Computer simulation; Current voltage characteristics; Double-diode; Equivalence; Error reduction; Irradiance; Low temperature; Mathematical models; Meteorological data; Modelling of photovoltaic module; Parameters; Parameters extraction; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaics; PV cell equivalent-circuit model; Single-diode; Software; Solar cells; Solar energy; Temperature effects; Variation; Weather
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2019.07.005

•The performances of single and double diode equivalent circuit models are discussed.•A new approach that combines both the single and double diode models is proposed.•The proposed hybrid approach is tested under climate variation of real field data. Various works investigated different photovoltaic (PV) cell equivalent-circuit models and several techniques were proposed to extract their unknown parameters. The present paper analyzes the current/voltage (I-V) characteristics for Si-crystalline PV modules under non-standard conditions of irradiance and temperature, by using single-diode and double-diode models. The Chaibi and Ishaque methods are employed to determine the parameters for each equivalent-circuit model. Then, the I-V curves provided by the manufacturers and the calculated I-V characteristics are compared at different levels of irradiance and temperature. The comparison suggests prioritizing one of the two equivalent-circuit models according to the prevailing meteorological inputs. As such, a hybrid approach is proposed in order to select the most appropriate model depending on the relevant climatic conditions. The presented approach accuracy is evaluated using real weather data of two PV plants located in two different climatic zones (Mediterranean and Semi-Continental). Results show that the double-diode model is more reliable for low-irradiance levels; however, the single-diode model performs well with low-temperature fluctuations. An error reduction of 53.93% and 21.04% can be reached for the cloudy weather and for the sunny days, respectively. Accordingly, this approach can be easily implemented as a computing tool to achieve more accurate prediction in the PV systems simulations.