Novel Indoor Educational I-V Tracer for Photovoltaic Modules

The renewable energy market, particularly the photovoltaic sector, has experienced significant growth over the past decade. Higher education institutions must play a vital role in the training of professionals, which the sector is currently demanding and will continue to require in the future. A pivotal resource for understanding the performance of PV modules is the experimental extraction of the characteristic I-V curve in laboratory practices. This paper presents an innovative and low-cost I-V curve tracer which can be used in indoor laboratories for teaching purposes. The described measurement system presents the novelty of helping form an energy-harvesting IC to force a sweep of the voltage from values close to zero to the open voltage circuit (Voc). An Arduino Micro board interfaces the implemented electronics and a LabVIEW-based monitoring and control program. The system proved its reliability and accuracy when it was compared to a calibrated commercial I-V tracer. The experimental results show that for a low-power PV module illuminated by a lamp, the proposed I-V tracer only deviated 1.3% from the commercial one in measurements of the maximum power.