Analysis of Photovoltaic Modules Energy Efficiency in LabView Simulation Environment

Abstract

Solar energy is considered as one of the most important renewable energy resources with a great potential in the next decades energy production. In the last years a high interest is expressed worldwide to analyze and understand the physical processes in photovoltaic devices (PV) in order to increase their efficiency. This paper is dedicated to the analysis and evaluation of PV modules energy efficiency under various operating conditions. For this purpose a versatile and user friendly simulator has been conceived and implemented in LabView graphical programming language. The developed virtual instrument (VI) is well suited to display and follow energy conversion processes in various PV modules. The obtained simulation results cover with high fidelity the manufacturer’s datasheet. Additionally, the simulator may serve as a useful toolkit for researchers involved in PV modules design and utilization.

Keywords

• PV module
• energy efficiency
• maximal power point
• LabView simulator
• virtual instrument