Empowering Photovoltaic Systems: A Simplified PV Emulator via Current Regulation Approach

A Photovoltaic Emulator (PVE) is a dedicated instrument engineered to emulate a solar panel's static and dynamic attributes. Its critical function lies in the examination and validation of PV systems by offering a regulated setting despite the erratic shifts in real-world scenarios. The photovoltaic emulator (PVE) comprises two principal constituents - the reference photovoltaic model which serves as the benchmark, and the electronics power controller intrinsic to the PVE itself. The intrinsic simplicity of these two primary elements is imperative for facilitating user-friendly operation. The present study propounds a novel photovoltaic emulator explicitly designed to streamline the deployment and incorporation of a photovoltaic model. The overarching PVE system is predicated on current regulation via a DC-DC buck power-electronic converter and a fundamental proportional-integral (PI) controller. A juxtaposition of the output current and voltage (I-V) characteristics exhibited by the photovoltaic emulator (PVE) and those of the SCHOTT POLY 210 photovoltaic module elucidates that the (I-V) characteristics of the PVE evince congruency and precision, even when subjected to variances in solar irradiance and ambient temperature conditions. This finding underscores the robust performance of the photovoltaic emulator across a diverse spectrum of environmental parameters.