LabVIEW Interface for Controlling a Test Bench for Photovoltaic Modules and Extraction of Various Parameters

Abstract

Numerical simulation using mathematical models that take into account physical phenomena governing the operation of solar cells is a powerful tool to predict the energy production of photovoltaic modules prior to installation in a given site. These models require some parameters that manufacturers do not generally give. In addition, the availability of a tool for the control and the monitoring of performances of PV modules is of great importance for researchers, manufacturers and distributors of PV solutions. In this paper, a test and characterization protocol of PV modules is presented. It consists of an outdoor computer controlled test bench using a LabVIEW graphical interface. In addition to the measuring of the IV characteristics, it provides all the parameters of PV modules with the possibility to display and print a detailed report for each test. After the presentation of the test bench and the developed graphical interface, the obtained results based on an experimental example are presented.