A novel method to extract the series resistances of individual cells in a photovoltaic module

Abstract

Non-disruptive cell-level characterization of a photovoltaic module is presented. Previous works have developed methods to extract the shunt resistances and the short circuit currents of individual cells, but their series resistances have not been characterized yet. In this paper, a novel methodology that quantifies the series resistances of individual cells is developed by using a partial shading technique with two different shading ratios. The simulation and experimental test results are presented for validation. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.