Simple method of photovoltaic panel power characteristic measurement based on Arduino hardware platform

摘要

This paper deals with simple measurement method for low power photovoltaic panel power characteristic measurement. Proposed method is based on the characteroscope principle, which utilizes simple controlled current sink and measurement circuitry for current and voltage measurements ranging from no load to short circuit conditions on the photovoltaic cell. Emphasis was placed to design the simplest possible hardware based on Arduino platform. The maximum power point of measured panel is obtained by mathematical calculation which is carried out by the firmware of Arduino Central Processing Unit (CPU). Simulation of proposed hardware design and experimental results taken on prototype was shown.