Factors Affecting the Power Generation of Solar Photovoltaic Modules

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) modules are the most costly component of a PV system installed in the field to deliver certain voltage and current in order to generate the desired power output. So, the modules should be operated under suitable conditions so as to generate the maximum power from it. However, in field condition, the PV modules exhibit mediocre performance resulting in reduced power output. The reduction in power output of modules is mainly due to some internal faults and variation in the field environmental conditions. The internal faults include the variation of the intrinsic element such as series and shunt resistances of the module while the field environmental condition includes the variation of irradiance, operating temperature, and partial shading in the modules. All these factors badly affect the performance of the modules with reduced power output. This book focuses on a detailed study of the factors affecting the performance and power generation of the PV modules operating in the field scenario. The study has been carried out in MATLAB/Simulink environment and field conditions using prototype experiments.