Dark I-V measurements of single cells in a photovoltaic module

Abstract

A simple method of obtaining single cell dark I-V curves in a photovoltaic module was developed. The method does not require disassembling the module and was experimentally verified. From the dark I-V curves, the cell characteristic parameters were obtained. The effect of these parameters on the fill factor and conversion efficiency of the whole module was evaluated by using an electrical simulation model. By following the time evolution of the characteristic parameters it would be possible to find out the main degradation mechanisms and predict the module mean life before failure.