Analysis of Characteristic Curves of Solar Cells in LTSPICE

Abstract

Computer simulation of solar cells has become essential to determine their parameters and operating conditions. The simulation makes it possible to analyze the behavior of the devices inherent in the system, estimating their photovoltaic efficiency, as well as other fundamental characteristics such as open circuit voltage, short circuit current, filling factor, series resistance and shunt resistance of the device. Solar simulation can be used for various purposes, such as analyzing and studying the behavior of energy converters attached to the system, and simulating the behavior for tracking the maximum power point of the photovoltaic system as a whole. In addition, simulation can also be used for various operating conditions, such as partial shading, radiation change and fault conditions. The present work presents two models of equivalent circuits, used to evaluate the effects of electrical parameters on the characteristic curves of the photovoltaic panel used by Gn|oatto et al. (2005), who determined them experimentally under field conditions. The simulation was fully satisfactory, since the relative error was low compared to the experimental data obtained in the field, around 3.45% for the first simulation and negligible for the second simulation. Finally, the parameters of conventional photovoltaic cells made of silicon were obtained by simulating the equivalent circuits of the solar cells, using the Ltspice software.