Characterization tool for photovoltaic power sources

This paper presents a software that simulates and characterizes photovoltaic systems (PV). The tool reveals the effect of the climatic parameters and the state of the load on the behavior of the photovoltaic conversion system. Different approaches are programmed to track the maximum power point such as fuzzy logic, P&O, etc... Furthermore, several functionalities are supplied as diagrams of the electric characteristics (current, voltage, power). Simulation is executed using PV parameters according to either a set of PV known companies or by programming specific PV configuration. Validation is ensured thanks to a stored measurement database relative to Sfax, Tunisia. Thanks to an interactive graphic interface, the software offers a great flexibility when teaching, characterizing, modeling or sizing photovoltaic installations.