PV Module Parameter Characterization From the Transient Charge of an External Capacitor

In the classical model of the photovoltaic (PV) cell/module, based on the single-exponential or double-exponential representation of PV cell/module behavior, parasitic parameters are ignored. Their presence, however, has multiple effects, such as the maximum power point tracking on the current-voltage curve, the switching ON/OFF of the inverters for grid connection, and the electrical safety of persons against indirect contact due to ground leakage currents and lightning phenomena. The effects of parasitic parameters can be visualized in the experimental results gathered through the transient charge of an external capacitor connected to the PV generator terminals. The impact of the parasitic components is different when considering a single PV module or a PV array composed of several PV modules. At the module scale, an oscillation occurs in the initial part of the current waveform, which indicates the presence of some inductive components. At the array scale, the inductive phenomena are overdamped, and parasitic capacitive effects become predominant. This paper shows how to determine the parameters of an extended model of PV modules embedding the parasitic parameter effects. It starts from the experimental results obtained from the fast-sampled voltage and current waveforms during the transient charge of an external capacitor. Numerical examples taken from real cases with different PV technologies are provided.