An Novel Model for Solar Photovoltaic Cell using

Matlab Simulink
Ravi Raj1 and Purujit Chaturvedi1
IKG Punjab Technical University, Kapurthala (PB), India
ravi42begusarai@gmail.com, 1998.purujit@gmail.com

Abstract. This paper focuses on a MATLAB/SIMULINK model of a

photovoltaic cell. This model is based on mathematical equations and is
described through an equivalent circuit including a photocurrent source,
a bridge rectier, inductive, resistive and capacitive load. The developed
model allows the prediction of PV cell behavior under dierent physical
and environmental conditions. The model can also be used to extract the
physical parameters for a given solar PV cell as a function of temperature
and solar radiation. This study outcomes the working principle of PV
module as well as PV array. The developed model, an experimental test
bench was build-up and the obtained results exhibited a good agreement
with the simulation system.

Keywords: MATLAB Simulink · PV-Solar cell model · Solar radiation.

1 Introduction
Photovoltaic silicon provides unparalleled strength as a substrate and / or com-
ponent to many devices currently reecting the modern lifestyle. Photovoltaic
silicon has become one of the leading tools that helps to promote a clean and
stable society.
Photo-chemical reactions, solar energy, and solar photovoltaic energy are just
a few dierent ways in which solar energy can be used. Photovoltaic solar energy
converts solar energy into electrical energy through the eect of photovoltaic
(PV). This system is the result of photovoltaic, dating back to about 1840,
when French physicist Becquerel discovered that under sunlight it was possible
to obtain electrical energy from two parts of iron in rened hydrochloric acid.
A century later, at Bell Laboratories, the rst silicon solar cell, which began
research and use, was still in use today.
Today, solar cells are a global commodity and are used in a variety of elds.
One of these sectors is the space industry, where solar panels are used to trans-
mit electricity to satellites and space stations [6]. Remote regions have also been
created in all deserts, mountains, and islands to provide electricity in some parts
of the world, and it is becoming increasingly common to see solar cells installed
on rooftops, apartments, and public buildings for electricity generate electricity
on the grid [7]. Because of the amount of energy needed to build large photo-
voltaic power stations generating megawatts (MW) or even gigawatts (GW) of
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electricity, solar cell sets combined with these structures have become common-
place.
In addition to emitting pollutants, Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into
electricity. They are basically built by PN junction. Fig. 1 shows the current
production process for PV cells. In fact, when sunlight strikes a cell, photons are
absorbed by semiconductor atoms, releasing electrons into the negative layer.
This free electron nds its way through the outer circuit toward a positive layer
that generates electricity from a straight layer to a negative layer.

Fig. 1. Photocurrent generation principle.

Typically, a PV cell produces a voltage of about 0.5 to 0.8V depending on the

semiconductor and technology developed. This voltage is low enough because it
cannot be used. Therefore, to benet from this technology, dozens of PV cells
(comprising 36 to 72 cells) are connected to a series to form a PV module. These
modules can be connected in series and / or integrated to form a PV panel. In
the event that these modules are connected in series, their voltages are added to
the same current. However, when connected in parallel, their currents are added
while the voltage is the same.
The three major families of PV cells are monocrystalline technology, poly-
crystalline technology and small lm technology. Monocrystalline and polycrys-
talline technologies are based on microelectronic manufacturing technologies and
their eciency is usually between 10% and 15% monocrystalline and between 9%
and 12% polycrystalline. For small lm cells, the eciency is 10% in a-Si, 12%
CuInSe2 and 9% CdTe [4]. Therefore, a highly ecient monocrystalline cell is
concentrated in this paper. This paper has developed a MATLAB / SIMULINK
monocrystalline PV cell model that has enabled the prediction of PV cell be-
havior under various parameters such as solar radiation, ambient temperature,
series resistor, shunt resistor, diode saturation current, etc.
This paper focuses on matching the solar cells discussed in section two. The
third stage shows the eects of various solar radiation. In the fourth stage, the
thermal eect on the eects of the PV cell is investigated. The results of the
series opposition are presented in the fth phase. The sixth phase focuses on
 An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 3

the eects of shunt resistance. In section seven, the results of the diode reverse
saturation current are read. The characteristics of the model and its validation
of the test are discussed in sections eight to ten. Although future conclusions
and activities are presented in section eleven.

2 PV Cell Model
The equivalent circuit of a PV cell is shown in Fig. 2. It has includes a current
source, a diode, a series resistance and a shunt resistance.

Fig. 2. Photocurrent generation principle.

The current load is shown by (1)

   
Rs I Rs I
I = Iph − Ish v
e + −1 − v+ (1)
N KT Rsh

In these calculations, Iph represents photocurrent, Is represents diode satura-

tion current, q represents electron charge, V represents voltage across the diode,
K represents Boltzmann's constant, T stands for temperature combination, N
represents a positive diode element, and Rs and Rsh represent a series of cells
and shunt therapies, respectively.
As a result, all PV cell body behaviur is inuenced by Iph , Is , Rs , and Rsh
on the one hand, and on the other hand two natural factors such as temperature
and sunlight on the other.
Based on the statistics (1), the MATLAB Simulink model of Fig. 3 was
developed [1,8]. In the given radiation, temperature, Rs and Rsh , I-V and P-V
curves are suspected as shown in Fig. 4.

3 Eects of Solar Radiation Variation

In these calculations, Iph represents photocurrent, Is represents diode saturation
current, q represents electron charge, V represents voltage across the diode,
K represents Boltzmann's constant, T stands for temperature combination, N
represents a positive diode element, and Rs and Rsh represent a series of cells
and shunt therapies, respectively.
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Fig. 3. Proposed model of PV cell MATLAB model

Fig. 4. I-V curves and P-V curves for a given PV

 An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 5

The above model includes two sub-systems: one that calculates PV cell pho-
tocurrent based radiation and temperature according to equation (2).
Iph = [Isc + Ki(T − 298)]β/1000 (2)
There, Ki = 0.0017A/ C is the shortest cell cycle. The coecient of temperature
o

and β is solar radiation (W/m2 ). Based on the above gures, the sub-system of
Fig. 5 is available and model simulation results are shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7.
As can be seen in Figs. 6 and 7, PV cell current is highly dependent on solar

Fig. 5.Proposed model of Iph MATLAB Simulink subsystem for varying cell temper-
ature and solar radiation.

radiation. However, the voltage has a magnitude of 50mV as solar radiation rises
from 400W/m2 to 1000W/m2 .

4 Eect of Varying Cell Temperature

The diode reverse saturation current changes as a cubic function of the temper-
ature and it can be described as:
Is (T ) = Is (T /Tnom )3 exp([T /T nom − 1]) Eg /N.Vt (3)
when Is diode reverse saturation current, Tnom normal temperature, Eg semi-
conductor power gap and Vt thermal voltage. The reverse saturation current
subsystem shown in Fig. 8 was constructed based on equation (3).
In general, for a given solar radiation, when the cell temperature increases,
the open circuit voltage Voc , drops slightly, while the short circuit current in-
creases. This behavior is validated and presented in Fig. 9 9 and Fig. 10.

5 Eect of Varying Rs
Resistance to PV cell series is low, and in some cases, negligible. at any time,
in order to provide a suitable model for any given PV cell, it is possible to
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Fig. 6. I-V curves for dierent solar radiations

Fig. 7. P-V curves for dierent solar radiations

 An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 7

Fig. 8. Proposed model of MATLAB Simulink temperature eect subsystem on diode

reverse saturation current

Fig. 9. I-V curves for dierent cell temperatures

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Fig. 10. P-V curves for dierent cell temperatures

dierentiate this by predicting the eect of your variation on the output of the
PV cell. As shown in Fig.11 and Fig.12 The simulation was performed for three
dierent values of Rs are as: 1mW, 4mΩ and 8mΩ . It was shown that higher
values of Rs reduce the power output of the PV cell. According to equation (4),
the ll factor, given by equation (4), decreases as Rs increases.
Pmax
FF = (4)
Voc Isc

6 Eect of Varying Rsh

The shunt resistance of any PV cell should be large enough for higher output
power and ll factor. In fact, for a low shunt resistor, the PV cell current collapses
more steeply which means higher power loss and lower ll factor. These results
can be seen in Fig. 13 and Fig. 14.

7 Eects of Varying Is
The model helps to monitor the behavior of the PV cell in dierent diode sat-
uration uctuations. The curves of Fig. 15 and Fig. 16 are arranged in three
dierent values of Is : 100nA, 10nA and 1nA. The increasing eect of is clearly
seen as a decrease in Voc power.
An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 9

Fig. 11. I-V curves for dierent Rs

Fig. 12. P-V curves for dierent Rs

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Fig. 13. I-V characteristics for dierent Rsh

Fig. 14. P-V curves for dierent Rsh

An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 11

Fig. 15. V-I curves for dierent Is

Fig. 16. P-V curves for dierent Is

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8 PV Module
As mentioned above, a PV module is a connection of dozens of PV cells. Fig. 17
shows block diagram of the MATLAB / SIMULINK model of the PV module.

Fig. 17. Simulink model for the PV module

This model has an external control block that makes it easy to change the
model parameters. Thirty-six PV cells are connected in series to produce a single
module in this model. As a result, the module voltage is calculated by multiplying
the cell voltage by the number of cells, and the current value of the module is
equal to the current cell. The results are shown below Fig. 18 and Fig. 19.

Fig. 18. I-V curves of the PV module model

To benet from these advanced models, a 6 PV module network was built. In

fact, these To validate the Matlab / SIMULINK model, PV modules have been
connected to the series and all connected to an external control block as shown
in Fig. 20
An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 13

Fig. 19. I-V curves for the PV array model

Fig. 20. PV array model

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The PV array model was simulated similarly to the model of the PV module
and the obtained results are shown in Fig. ?? and Fig. ??, respectively.
The Matlab / SIMULINK model was tested on the solar panel PVL-124. The
results are shown in Fig. ??. On the other hand, the results of the 540W/m2
solar radiation test are shown in Figure 21.

9 Experimental Results and Validation

The PV bench of Fig. ?? was investigated. Contains a rheostat, solar star mea-
suring star, two multi-meter digital and solar panel with key meanings listed in
Table 21

Fig. 21. Electrical specications for the test panel

Solar Laminate PVL-Series Model PVL-124

Maximum power 124 W
Voltage at Pmax 30 V
Current at Pmax 4.1 A
Open circuit voltage 42 V
Short circuit current 5.1 A

The I-V and P-V simulations and test results show a good agreement de-
pending on the short circuit current, open circuit voltage and maximum power.
In this study, the Matlab / SIMULINK model not only helps to predict the
behavior of any PV cell under dierent physical and environmental conditions,
and can be considered a clever tool for removing the internal boundaries of any
solar PV cell including optimal element, series and shunt resistance. Some of
these parameters are not always provided by the builders.

10 Conclusion
This study developed and introduced the MATLAB / SIMULINK model of solar
PV cells, modules, and lists. This model is based on the basic circuit calculation
of solar PV cell, taking into account physical and environmental factors such
as solar radiation and cell temperature. Using a highly ecient PVL-124 solar
laminate panel, the module model was simulated and validated for testing [5,2].
 An Novel Model for Solar PV Cell using Matlab Simulink 15

This model can be used as a photovoltaic generator in the SIMPOWER-

System MATLAB / SIMULINK toolbox in the eld of PV solar conversion
programs as a result of research [3]. In addition, such a model could be used to
predict the behavior of any solar PV cell, module, or array under a variety of
climatic and physical changes.

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