Experimental Performance Characterization of Photovoltaic Modules Using DAQ

This paper presents a simple electronic circuit for testing the photovoltaic (PV) modules by tracing their I-V characteristics. A precise PV module electrical model is also introduced. The circuit consists of a fast varying electronic load based on power MOSFET and operational amplifier. A DAQ system with LabVIEW application was developed for controlling the MOSFET gate-source voltage. The circuit is designed, implemented and tested under real conditions. The experimental results verified with simulation results and another way of testing which is resistor method.