Real-time simulation of photovoltaic panel on miniature full spectrum simulator

Real-time simulation of photovoltaic (PV) panel can be used for research on power electronic converter topologies and control for PV applications. This paper presents real-time simulation of PV panel using a miniature full spectrum simulator (mini-FSS), developed for educational purposes. A mathematical model of the PV panel is solved using Newton Raphson method on the real-time simulator. This can provide the output voltage and current of the PV panel for any load resistance at a given irradiation and temperature, consuming less than 50μs. By repeatedly solving the model for different values of resistances, the IV and PV characteristics of a commercially available PV panel (i.e. KT200C) are obtained for different values of temperature and irradiation. The real-time simulation results are validated with theoretical results based on calculations.