Study of PV array configuration and its effects on performance under non uniform irradiance

Overall performance of the photovoltaic (PV) module varies with the varying irradiance, temperature and array configuration. Hence, it is essential to study the relationship between these effects and output power of PV array. This paper presents a PV module which is based on MATLAB-Simulink consisting of S-function builder and controlled current source. The modeling scheme in S-function builder is deduced by some pre-digested function. The series and parallel configuration of PV module is done to reveal the I-V and P-V characteristics of the PV under nonuniform irradiance conditions. The results show there exits multiple peaks which makes the characteristics more complicated. The proposed model assists in validating new global Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques and will help to design best PV array configuration with the Maximum power.