Characterisation of Si-crystalline PV modules by artificial neural networks

In the photovoltaic field, manufacturers provide ratings for PV modules for conditions referred to as standard test conditions (STC). However, these conditions rarely occur outdoors, so the usefulness and applicability of the indoors' characterisation in standard test conditions of PV modules are a controversial issue. Therefore, to carry out photovoltaic engineering well, a suitable characterisation of PV module electrical behaviour (V-I curves) is necessary. The IDEA Research Group from Jaen University has developed a method based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) to electrical characterisation of PV modules. An ANN has been developed which is able to generate V-I curves of Si-crystalline PV modules for any irradiance and module cell temperature. The results show that the proposed ANN introduces a good accurate prediction for Si-crystalline PV modules' performance when compared with the measured values. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.