The Condition of Photovoltaic Modules under Random Operation Parameters

Abstract

The paper presents an original method underlying an efficient tool for assessing the condition of photovoltaic (PV) modules, in particular, those made of amorphous cells. Significantly random changes in operational parameters characterize amorphous cell operation and cause them to be challenging to test, especially in working conditions. To develop the method, the authors modified the residual method with incorporated histograms. The proposed method has been verified through experiments that show the usefulness of the proposed approach. It significantly minimizes the risk of false diagnostic information in assessing the condition of photovoltaic modules. Based on the proposed methods, the inference results confirm the effectiveness of the concept for evaluating the degree of failure of the photovoltaic module described in the paper.