Temperature and Solar Radiation Effects on Photovoltaic Panel Power

Solar energy is converted to electrical energy directly by semiconductors materials used in Photovoltaic (PV) panels. Although, there has been great advancements in semi-conductor material technology in recent years panel efficiency is very lower. There are many factors affecting the panel efficiency such as tilt angle, shading, dust, solar radiation level, temperature and wiring losses. Among these factors, solar radiation level and temperature are more prominent. The solar radiation level falling on the PV panels varies depending on the location of the panel and the time intervals in a day. Therefore, solar radiation level has a direct effect on the panel power. As a result, a decrease in solar radiation level reduces the panel power. On the other hand, there is an inverse proportion between temperature and panel power. In other words, panel power decreases as the ambient temperature increases. In this study, the equivalent circuit of the panel is simulated at PSIM and MATLAB using the catalogue data of the PV panel and the temperature and the solar radiation effects on the PV panel power are examined.