A Simple Parameter Estimation Approach to Modeling of Photovoltaic Modules Based on Datasheet Values

This work presents a simple parameter estimation approach for a photovoltaic (PV) module using a single-diode five-parameter electrical model. The proposed approach only uses the information from manufacturer datasheet without requiring a specific experimental procedure or a curve extractor. The number of parameters to be determined is first reduced from five to two by gaining insight into electrical equations of the model at the standard test conditions (STCs). A nonlinear least square (NLS) objective function is then constructed and minimized by a complete scan for all possible values of the two parameters within some specific ranges based on their physical meaning. Consequently, the single-diode five-parameter electrical model at the STC is determined based on two optimal parameter values. Besides, a PV full characteristic model with consideration of both the irradiance and temperature dependencies is also constructed by using the data at the nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) test conditions. The proposed approach is easy to implement and free of the convergence problem. The evaluations on several PV modules show that the proposed approach is capable of extracting accurate estimates of the model parameters.