Accurate Expressions for Single-Diode-Model Solar Cell Parameterization

The performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is represented by a single-diode-model circuit with the five parameters for a given environmental condition. However, the model characteristic equation which is implicit in nature makes the parameters' extraction computationally complex. In addition, for finding the five parameters from the specifications of the PV module datasheet, one can formulate only four equations. To complete the solution, the formulation of the fifth equation is really tricky. Therefore, the researchers have attempted several approximations to complete the problem formulation, but the obtained results have low accuracy in many cases. This paper specifically focuses on the formulation of the fifth equation without any approximation, which considers an exact area under the current-voltage (I-V) curve of a PV cell/module. The method is employed for different cells as case study-I and for the experimental data of a silicon cell and a module as case study-II commonly available in the literature. The numerical results are highly accurate with respect to the existing methods.