ABSTRACT
The amount of energy radiated to the earth by the sun exceeds the annual energy requirement of the world population. Making use of this ine- xhaustible energy source for our everyday electricity requirement is the great challenge of the present and the future. The generation of electric energy from the sun via photovoltaic [PV] generation is one of the most eligible candidates in this regard. For PV applications, the accurate simulation of the PV module performance, which is an important point in the accurate design of these systems, depends mainly on the electrical parameters of the PV module [series resistance, reverse saturation current, short circuit current temperature coefficient, and ideality factor]. Also, knowledge of the effect of ageing on the PV module's performance after a certain period requires an accurate identification of these parameters. This paper presents accurate methods to obtain the PV module electrical parameters through practical measurements for its current-voltage [I-V] characteristics under dif- ferent operating conditions [different solar radiation intensity and module tem- perature] using an accu- rate data acquisition system. The paper then compares the theoretical performance of the PV module using the identified parameters with the measured curves to work out the accurate determination of the PV module parameters