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MATLAB Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic Modules

Conference Paper  in  Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems · May 2012

DOI: 10.1109/MWSCAS.2012.6292138

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MATLAB Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic
Modules
Soliman A. Mahmoud, Mejd M. Alsari, Esra
I. Reda, and Ruqiya M. Alhammadi
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
University of Sharjah
Sharjah, UAE
Email: {solimanm, U00010850, 20620300,
20720464} @sharjah.ac.ae

Abstract—In this paper a modeling method is investigated that
finds the non-linear equation parameters of a photovoltaic (PV)
module in order to obtain the desired PV model using any
circuit simulator. This modeling method adjusts the I-V curve at
three remarkable points: the open circuit voltage, the short
circuit current, and the maximum power point [1]. Three
models are realized using this technique namely, the single-diode
model, the two-diode model, and the three-diode model. The
evaluation study of the accuracy of these three models showed
relative errors ranging from 32% to 50%. Further, this
technique is improved by adjusting the I-V curve at more than
three points depending on the number of unknowns to be found
for each model, which showed a reduction in the relative error
ranging from 0.37% to 38%. Finally, a study of the parameters
obtained from the modeling algorithm on the performance of
the proposed single-diode model is presented.
I. INTRODUCTION
The increasing demand for electrical power has created many
challenges for the energy industry, which can play a vital role
in the quality of the generated power in both short and long
terms. The limited supply of fossil fuels had grabbed the
international community attention towards the importance of
renewable energy. Transforming the sun’s potential into
clean non-polluted, efficient energy has become an
alternative of many power sources creating a revolution in the
energy industry. The direct conversion of sunlight into
electricity can be done using PV systems. Lately, many
researchers have investigated this topic showing how
promising this field might be. Learning the basics of the PV
system is stepping stone to carry out a PV model [2]-[3].
Manufacturers of PV modules provide only a few
experimental data regarding the electrical and thermal
characteristics of these modules. These parameters, which are
obtained under nominal conditions of temperature and solar
irradiation, are not enough to build an accurate PV circuit
model with any circuit simulator using basic math blocks [1].
Therefore, a modeling method should be investigated that
would find the rest of these parameters in order to obtain the
desired PV model. Different techniques have been developed
in the literature regarding this issue. One particular method
finds the non-linear equation parameters by adjusting the I-V
curve at three remarkable points: the open circuit voltage, the
short circuit current, and the maximum power point [1].
Further, it is critical to consider the non-idealities of a solar
cell by extending the modeling and simulation to three
models namely, the single-diode model, the two-diode model,
and the three-diode model. The developed models will be
suitable to simulate several homogenous or/and
heterogeneous PV cells or PV panels.
This paper is organized as follows: Sec. 2 discusses the
modeling of the PV module using three different models: the
single-diode model, the two-diode model, and the three-diode
model. Sec. 3 proposes an improvement of the modeling
discussed in Sec. 2. The results of both modeling algorithms
are discussed in Sec. 4. Sec. 5 studies the effect of the
variations of the PV module parameters on the overall
performance of the model. Finally, the paper is concluded in
Sec. 6.
II. MODELING THE PV MODULE
A. The Single-Diode Model
The I-V characteristics of the single-diode model of a solar
cell shown in fig. 1 can be represented by Eq. 1 [1].
1 – (1)
Where (2)
The I-V curve that represents eq. 1 is shown in fig. 2 in which
three significant points are highlighted: the open circuit
voltage (Voc), the short circuit current (Isc), and the maximum
power point (MPP).

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V (8)
Figure 1. The single-diode model of a solar cell
Figure 2. The I-V curve adjusted to three remarkable points
In practical PV cells the generated light current depends upon
the solar radiation and the temperature according to eq. 3 [1].
. ∆ (3)
where ∆ (4)
The second parameter in the I-V equation is the diode
saturation current that is represented by eq. 5. For
simplification purposes eq. 5 can be improved to eq. 6 [1]
showing the dependence of the saturation current on the
temperature in a different manner. This alteration aims to
match the open circuit voltage of the model with the available
parameters in the datasheet, namely, KI and KV, for a wide
range of temperatures.
(5)
, exp
, ∆ (6)
, ∆
,
The third and fourth parameters to be considered are the
series and parallel resistances. The modeling method used
here chooses only one pair (Rs,Rsh) that makes the peak
output power available in the datasheet equal to the peak
output power of the proposed model. The relationship
between Rs and Rsh can be obtained by setting Pmax,e = Pmax,m
as shown in eq. 7 [1]. The resultant relationship is expressed
in eq. 8 [1] that shows a great dependence between the two
resistances.
787
, exp 1
, (7)
/ exp
,
Rs and Rsh can be obtained using an iterative method that
assumes an initial value of Rs, namely, zero, and
incrementing it until the maximum power of the model
matches the experimental maximum power. The initial value
of Rsh is given in eq. 9 [1].
,
,
,
(9)
As for the fifth and last parameter, the diode ideality factor
(n), a set of n values have been assumed ranging from 1 to 2
with an increment of 0.1. This represents the usual
assumption for n [1].
The developed model can be further improved taking into
consideration the effect of Rs and Rsh on the light current as
shown in eq. 10 [1]. This shows a significant reliance where
the light current has a different value from the short circuit
current.
, , (10)
The I-V curve can be obtained using Newton-Raphson
method for solving non-linear systems by numerically solving
g(V,I) = I-f(V,I)=0 for a set of V values obtaining the
corresponding set of I values. The modeling algorithm
computes these five unknowns using equations (1)-(10) for
the sake of adjusting the I-V curve to the three remarkable
points [1]. The simulation was based on several values of n
for each module comparing the absolute error |I,m-I,e| for the
purpose of matching the calculated current with the
experimental value. The objective of this method, to fit the I-
V equation to the three distinct points, was successfully
achieved.
B. The Two-diode and Three-Diode Models
The generalized model of a non-ideal solar cell comprises
of two diodes as shown in fig. 3 and can be represented by Eq.
11 [4].
V
Figure 3. The two-diode model of a solar cell
 algorithm. This evaluation aims at improving the accuracy of
the obtained results [5].
1

1 – 11 (12)

0 (13)

The second diode describes the "non-ideality" of the real p-n
junction due to the recombination that occurs at the depletion
region. The modeling procedure applied here is similar to that
for the single-diode model. In addition, the saturation current
of the second diode is set to be equal to the saturation current
of the first diode [4]. As for the diode ideality factor (n),
according to the Shockley’s diffusion theory, the value of n1
must be unity. In addition, the value of n2 should be greater
than or equal to 1.2 (>=1.2) to obtain the best possible match
between the proposed model and the experimental model as
extensive simulations showed [4]. It is critical to take into
consideration the non-idealities of a solar cell by means of
modeling and simulation. Therefore, this analysis can be
further extended by studying the three-diode model taking into
consideration the effect of the leakage current. The equivalent
circuit of this model is shown in fig. 4 and the same procedure
was applied for modeling.
(14)
(15)
(16)
IV. RESULTS
The modeling algorithm for the three proposed models
was applied to the MSX60 PV module. The error curves of the
three models based on the three remarkable points are shown
in fig. 5. Fig. 6 shows the error curves of the three improved
models. It can be noticed that the least error can be obtained
from the single-diode model. The corresponding five-point
adjusted I–V curve is shown in fig. 7 for the obtained
parameters listed in table 1.

Figure 4. The three-diode model of a solar cell

III. ACCURACY IMPROVEMENT OF THE PROPOSED MODELS Figure 5. The error curves of the 3-point adjusted models
The accuracy of the proposed models is evaluated by
comparing the experimental data of any PV module with the
measured data obtained from the modeling algorithm. The
accuracy can be further improved by finding the unknown
parameters that are not available in the typical PV datasheets
using more than three points from the I-V curve instead of
only the three remarkable points depending on the number of
unknowns for each model. For the single-diode model, five
points are needed to find the unknown parameters. For the
two-diode model, seven points are extracted; and for the three-
diode model, nine points are required. The additional points in
each model were selected according to where a large error Figure 6. The error curves of the 5-point adjusted models
occurs. The improvement process works as follows: the main
five points in the I-V curve are extracted. Then, these points
are used as input parameters for the five nonlinear equations
12, 13, 14, 15, 16 that are solved using the quasi-Newton
method in the nominal condition. Finally, the five unknown
parameters are determined and used in the modeling

788

Figure 7. The I-V curve of the 5-point adjusted
single-diode model
TABLE 1
OBTAINED PARAMETERS FROM THE SINGLE-DIODE MODEL
Parameter Measured Value
IL [A] 3.799962
Io [A] 3.7278e-007
Rs [ohm] 0.194933
Rsh [ohm] 27067.846214
n 1.4138
I. PARAMETERS EFFECT ON PV MODULE PERFORMANCE
Variations in the parameters obtained from the modeling
algorithm for any PV module affects the performance of the
module. These variations might occur after a long period of
time from its manufacturing. The effect of each parameter can
be studied for variations ranging from 20% to 30%. The
parameters to be studied are the series resistance, the shunt
resistance, and the saturation current that are obtained from
the modeling algorithm of the single-diode model. Fig. 8
shows the effect of changing the series resistance on the I-V
curve of the proposed model. It can be seen that as the value
of Rs changes the I-V curve is no longer adjusted to the three
remarkable points. The same analysis can be done for the
remaining two parameters as shown in fig. 9, and fig. 10.
Figure 8. The I-V curve for different series resistance values
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Figure 9. The I-V curve for different shunt resistance values
Figure 10. The I-V curve for different saturation current values
II. CONCLUSION
This paper proposed a modeling algorithm that depends upon
three remarkable points (Voc, Isc, and MPP). This algorithm
was applied to develop three models namely, the single-diode
model, the two-diode model, and the three-diode model. The
accuracy of these models were improved taking into account
the number of unknowns in each model using more than three
points from the I-V curve. We concluded that the most
accurate results are obtained using the single-diode model
with a relative error of 0.37% compared to the other two
models. Moreover, any alteration on the PV parameters
slightly affects the overall performance depending on our
choice of variation.
REFERENCES
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[2] L. Castan˜er and S. Silvestre, Modelling Photovoltaic Systems using
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[3] A. Geotzberger, J. Knobloch, and B. Voss, Crystalline Silicon Solar
Cells. Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
[4] K. Ishaque, Z. Salam, and H. Taheri, "Accurate MATLAB Simulink
PV System Simulator Based on a Two-Diode Model" Journal of Power
Electronics, vol. 11, NO. 2, March 2011.
[5] M. Taherbaneh, G. Farahani, and K. Rahmani "Evaluation the
Accuracy of One-Diode and Two-Diode Models for a Solar Panel
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