Preliminary results of a computational tool to model low concentration PV modules

The use of computational tools to study the behaviour of the PV modules, particularly under low concentration conditions, is a very useful technique to assess and optimize the operational conditions of PV applications improving the electrical performance of the whole generation system. A computational model was developed in this research to represent the optical, thermal and electrical characteristics of a PV module under non-homogeneous illumination. In this case, it was considered that the sunrays arrive to PV module not only directly from the Sun but also from a flat reflective surface creating nonuniform radiation patterns. The application was implemented by means of the Mathematica programming language and it was organized using the Cells Structure of the Mathematica environment. Thus, each model (optical, thermal and electrical) could be executed individually or as a single integrated code to fully evaluate the PV module. This implementation strategy increases the applicability of the simulation tool to cover different approaches.