Generalised model of a photovoltaic panel

The modelling of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels requires electrical parameters which are dependent on the manufacturing materials and their physical properties. Manufacturers typically do not disclose detailed physical properties of the PV module, except for some electrical quantities such as open circuit voltage (V-oc), short-circuit current (I-sc), maximum power point voltage (V-m), maximum power point current (I-m) and maximum power (P-M). However, to model the PV panels comprehensively, it is necessary to determine other physical parameters, e.g., series resistance of PV cell (R-s), shunt resistance of PV cell (R-Sh) and diode ideality factor (n). This paper presents a generalised mathematical model of a PV panel utilising only the quantities provided in manufacturer's datasheet. The proposed modelling technique determines all the PV panel parameters without any explicit repetitive iteration. Although the developed model is general and can be implemented on any software platform, its implementation is demonstrated on a commercial electromagnetic transients simulation software electro magnetic transient including direct current power systems computer aided design. The electrical parameters obtained from the proposed PV panel model are validated for six different commercially available PV panels from their datasheet values and also from measurements provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology for solar irradiation and temperature at nonstandard test conditions.