Accuracy Improvement of the Ideal PV Model

The only photovoltaic (PV) model in the literature featuring low computational effort is the ideal PV circuit model because it uniquely relies on a simple nontranscendental equation. Unfortunately, it suffers from a deteriorated accuracy at low irradiance levels. This letter enhances the accuracy of the ideal PV model at low irradiance levels without affecting its simplicity. The proposed approach modifies the equation of the saturation current such that it takes the irradiance variations into consideration. The effect of the proposed modification on the complexity of the model is shown to be negligible. The accuracy improvement is also demonstrated by comparing the proposed and existing ideal models to the measurements provided by the manufacturing datasheet of a monocrystalline PV module.