Simulation and experimental investigation of the characteristics of a PV-harvester under different conditions

Electricity demand is mounting around the world due to increased world population. For the years, conventional energy resources have been employed for the purpose of power generation. Rapid depletion plus their environmental and economic concerns has challenged the compatibility of conventional resources to deal with this mounting electricity demand. Therefore, it is necessary to exploit the renewable/alternative energy resources. Solar energy is among the best renewable energy options which is cheap and environment friendly. To utilize the dignified benefits of solar energy, it is necessary to know the characteristics of a solar harvester under varying conditions. This paper comprises of the simulation and experimental testing of an efficient but a simple PV-harvester. It presents the simulation as well as experimental investigation of the characteristics of a PV-harvester consisting of 72 solar cells. Experimental investigation of the PV-harvester has been done by measuring its voltage, current and power with varying irradiance and temperature during the month of June at “Multan city”. Simulation has been performed in MATLAB-SIMULINK environment with varying irradiance, temperature, series resistance and number of cells. Simulation and experimental testing of the harvester exhibits nonlinear power-voltage (P-V), current-voltage (I-V) and power-current (P-I) characteristics under the varying conditions. Experimental results, simulation results and manufacturer´s data have been compared which are precisely matching.