Novel Photovoltaic Empirical Mathematical Model Based on Function Representation of Captured Figures from Commercial Panels Datasheet

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) technology is gaining much interest as a clean, sustainable, noise-free source of energy. However, the non-linear behavior of PV modules and their dependency on varying environmental conditions require thorough study and analysis. Many PV modeling techniques have been introduced in the literature, yet they exhibit several complexity levels for parameter extraction and constants estimation for PV power forecast. Comparatively, a simple, accurate, fast, and user friendly PV modeling technique is proposed in this paper featuring the least computational time and effort. Based on function representation of PV curves’ available in PV datasheets, an empirical mathematical equation is derived. The proposed formula is considered a generic tool capable of modeling any PV device under various weather conditions without either parameter estimation nor power prediction. The proposed model is validated using experimental data of commercial PV panels’ manufacturers under various environmental conditions for different power levels. The obtained results verified the effectiveness of the proposed PV model.