Evaluation of the Electrical Characteristics of a Photovoltaic Solar Module in the Various Climatic Zones of Chad

Abstract

The performance of solar photovoltaic modules depends on the availability of solar radiation and the temperature of the solar cells. Knowledge and a good mastery of methods are essential to the design and the choice of the best technology. The chosen method should take into account the nonlinearity effects of the variation of current as a function of irradiation, and the variation of voltage as a function of temperature. In this work, the five-parameter, five-point model is used to evaluate the electrical characteristics of a solar photovoltaic module in the various climatic zones of Chad. Simulations are performed on a 250Wp polycrystalline photovoltaic solar module (SL250CE-36P composed of 72 cells connected in series) with an efficiency of 12.9%. The validation of the models was done by comparing the characteristics of the module in the various climatic zones of Chad. Results showed that most of the parameters depend on both the temperature of the cells and solar irradiance. This study shows that the five-point model is an excellent tool for evaluating the electrical characteristics of solar PV modules in the area. It is an improved method for extracting the five key physical quantities from the solar PV module characteristics. Most of the parameters depend on both the temperature of the cells and the solar irradiance. Accuracy varies depending on operating conditions. The effect of nonlinearity has made it possible to obtain a better match of the characteristics.