Overview of PV simulator design
A photovoltaic simulator is a programmable power source designed to simulate the characteristics of solar panels.
The PV simulator simulates current-voltage curves under different environmental conditions. This is done without the use of actual photovoltaic (PV) panels or external setups for data monitoring and data acquisition.
The user can enter the required specifications to simulate the characteristics of the solar panel and use the actual power output. This simulates a wide range of environmental conditions, including partial shadow conditions. These simulators can also serve as an important tool for research and development (R&D) activities when actual PV panels are not available.
Overview of PV simulators
There is a growing demand for different forms of energy, especially renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal. The use of solar energy has been an active research subject since 1860. Due to the increasing importance of distributed generation and smart grids, solar energy systems are gaining traction. Several research and development efforts are based on the efficient use of photovoltaic energy. The solar array produces a DC output with a nonlinear characteristic that varies with temperature and irradiance. For the efficient design of solar energy systems, photovoltaic simulators that simulate the actual photovoltaic characteristics are essential.
Even after a solar PV system is installed and put into use, there are still several ongoing issues that need to be investigated and resolved, such as PV system reliability, generation analysis, and grid efficiency due to partial shading. To overcome these issues, validation requires repeatable, scalable, and stable PV sources. This highlights the need to implement a PV device that can simulate the current-voltage (IV) output characteristics of a functional PV module over a wide range of climatic conditions.
Due to the continuous development and reduction of photovoltaic system technology, solar energy has occupied a large part of the market. PV simulators are a useful tool for estimating power losses due to daylight hours, and PV panels have a fixed location. There are a variety of methods that can be used to implement a solar PV generator, including a variety of power converter topologies such as DC-DC buck converters and DC-DC boost converters. Other methods are based on modifying a programmable DC power supply so that the internal resistance of the DC power supply varies exponentially with the output current.
How a PV simulator works
Over the past few decades, there has been extensive research into various approaches to solar PV simulators. This includes more than three decades of research related to photovoltaic cells, modules, and arrays. The first prototype of a photovoltaic ** device was developed based on an analog circuit. In the following years, much research revolved around technologies related to electric fields, but research on solar PV simulators also evolved. Typically, a solar PV generator consists of three parts, namely the PV model, the control strategy, and the power stage, as shown in Figure 1.
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Figure 1Components of a solar PV simulator.
These solar PV simulators are categorized according to their power range and PV model representation. It is clear that photovoltaic cells and their modeling are a key aspect of any PV** structure. No matter how complex the model is, the aim is to get data from all operating conditions from a PV device that basically closely simulates the behavior of a real solar cell.
Over the years, modeling has evolved from basic ISDM models to resistor-based and two- or three-diode-based models. In general, as the complexity of the model increases, more parameters are required to simulate the necessary system behavior, and therefore more computation time and complex algorithms are required to generate the desired output.
Similarly, several control strategies have been studied, starting with a direct reference method that employs the dynamic characteristics of proportional integral (PI) regulators and power converters to determine the operating point. Although this commonly used method is simple, an incorrect magnitude of external factors can cause significant oscillations in the output of the **device. To overcome this problem, the fixed step duty cycle method was chosen.
In addition, hybrid control modes were explored to improve the dynamic performance of the solar PV simulator. This results in reduced oscillation and improved performance, but increases the expense and complexity associated with the control algorithm. Other methods include resistance comparison methods, simulation-based methods, and curve-fitting methods. On the other hand, the power stage can be connected with a switch or a linear assembly. In general, however, there is always a trade-off between the rapidity, efficiency, robustness and complexity of solar PV** design choices.