Low-Cost PV Solar Cell Characterization System with MOSFET Switching and Decoder Integration

Energy harvesting through solar technology is one of the promising sources to meet the requirement of empowering renewable energy sources and reducing carbon emissions. The utilization of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells ranges from daily household apparatus to energizing the components used for space exploration. Before operating a PV cell, it is crucial to understand its current-voltage (IV) relationship, its maximum efficiency, and corresponding physical parameters to determine the optimal operating region. However, in this characterization procedure, manual contact can create noise which affects actual data calculation along with consuming time. To overcome this problem, an Arduino-based circuit has been designed in this study to collect data by varying resistance. For this purpose, several decoder circuits and MOSFETs have been used with an operating range between 0.5V to 25V. Data acquisition is achieved through a Python script that communicates with the Arduino, facilitating real-time data collection and processing. The collected data is smoothed and used to plot the I-V characteristics of the solar panel. Key parameters, including the maximum power point (MPP), open circuit voltage (V<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">oc</inf>), and short circuit current (I<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">sc</inf>), are determined. Additionally, the series and parallel resistances of the solar panel are calculated to provide a comprehensive characterization. The developed system offers a reliable and cost-effective method for evaluating the performance of solar panels, with potential applications in both research and industry.