Rakeshkumar Mahto

By Rakeshkumar Mahto and Reshma John

A Photovoltaic (PV) cell is a device that converts sunlight or incident light into direct current (DC) based electricity. Among other forms of renewable energy, PV-based power sources are considered a cleaner form of energy generation. Due to lower prices and increased efficiency, they have become much more popular than any other renewable energy source. In a PV module, PV cells are connected in a series and parallel configuration, depending on the voltage and current rating, respectively. Hence, PV modules tend to have a fixed topology. However, in the case of partial shading, mismatching or failure of a single PV cell can lead to many anomalies in a PV module’s functioning. If proper attention is not given, it can lead to the forward biasing of healthy PV cells in the module, causing them to consume the electricity instead of producing it, hence reducing the PV module’s overall efficiency. Hence, to further the PV module research, it is essential to have an approximate way to model them. Doing so allows for understanding the design’s pros and cons before deploying the PV module-based power system in the field. In the last decade, many mathematical models for PV cell simulation and modeling techniques have been proposed. The most popular among all the techniques are diode based PV modeling. In this book chapter, the author will present a double diode based PV cell modeling. Later, the PV module modeling will be presented using these techniques that incorporate mismatch, partial shading, and open/short fault. The partial shading and mismatch are reduced by incorporating a bypass diode along with a group of four PV cells. The mathematical model for showing the effectiveness of bypass diode with PV cells in reducing partial shading effect will also be presented. Additionally, in recent times besides fixed topology of series–parallel, Total Cross-Tied (TCT), Bridge Link (BL), and Honey-Comb (H-C) have shown a better capability in dealing with partial shading and mismatch. The book chapter will also cover PV module modeling using TCT, BL, and H-C in detail.

Part of the book: Solar Cells