SHADING EFFECT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF

SOLAR PV CELLS
A Dissertation
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement
For the Award of the Degree of

Master of Technology
in
Mechanical Engineering
Submitted by:
Sankalp Sharma
Roll No: 14209008

Under the Supervision of

Dr Pramod Kumar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
SEPTEMBER 2016
 CERTIFICATE

I Sankalp Sharma bearing Roll No.-14209008 hereby confirm that the work, which is
being presented in the dissertation, entitled “SHADING EFFECT ON THE
PERFORMANCE OF SOLAR PV CELLS” in partial fulfillment of requirements for
the award of degree of Master of Technology submitted in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering at Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology,
Jalandhar is an authentic record of my own work carried out under the supervisions of
Dr. Pramod kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology.
The matter presented in this dissertation has not been submitted in part or full to any
other University or Institute for the award of any degree.

(Sankalp Sharma)

Roll No. - 14209012

This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct and true to
the best of my knowledge.

(Dr Pramod Kumar)

Supervisor

The external Viva-Voce examination of student was held successfully on ____________.

Supervisor HOD (ME) External Examiner

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am highly grateful to the authorities of NIT JALANDHAR, for providing this

opportunity to carry out the thesis work.
I express my deep gratitude and respects to my supervisor Dr. Pramod Kumar for his
keen interest and valuable guidance, strong motivation and constant encouragement
during the course of the work. I thank him for his great patience, constructive criticism
and myriad useful suggestions apart from valuable guidance to me. I thank our head of
department Dr. R S Bharj, his excellent leadership and administration made this
research project very convenient in terms of required stuff and nice working condition. I
am extremely thankful to member of distinguished faculty. I am also thankful to known
and unknown person who directly and indirectly helped me in carrying out this work.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents, for their unfathomable support and
care who were always being there when I needed them most and for their moral and
spiritual support that kept my spirit uplifted during fluctuations.

(Sankalp Sharma)
 ABSTRACT
In a solar photovoltaic array, it is possible that shadow may fall over some of its cells.
Under partial shading conditions the PV characteristic gets more complex with
multiple peaks and this have a devastating impact on their performances since any
shadow is able to keep down the electricity production on a PV module. The purpose
of this study is to illustrate, by analyzing different shading situations, the effects of
partial shading in a PV array.

For this purpose five different types of shading profiles are employed throughout the
study; two of these are horizontal shading profiles and three are vertical shading
profiles. Currents and voltages produced by the PV module are then recorded, with the
help of a multimeter for these different shading conditions as well as for no shaded
condition with respect to different ambient temperatues, on a regular hour basis
throughout a day, for five consecutive days of observation.

First the output variables are compared for two different months of observation i.e. for
May and August, by employing a single shaded profile (horizontal profile in
lowermost row). This shows the variation in ranges of currents and voltages with
respect to natural temperatures and irradiations changes.Then all other four types of
shading profiles are employed only during five consecutive days of August and data is
measured for them simultaneously with respect to different ambient temperatures
throughout a day. This helps us in comparing the effects of different shading profiles
pertaining to same ambient conditions.

The main conclusions for different shading profiles are: whenever 2 cells or more than
2 cells are shaded, PV module produces very less currents and performance is
diminished for each type of shading profile. Also among all shaded profiles, one
which covers cells on the mid portion of the PV array has lowest output variables
generated as a result of incident light.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate
Acknowledgement
Abstract
Table of contents…………………………………………………………..iv
List of figures
List of tables
Nomenclature

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND
1.2.1 Recent indian scenario of solar photovoltaic Technology
1.2.2 Research Motivation

CHAPTER 2 LITRATURE REVIEW

2.1 LITRATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

3.1 OBJECTIVE

CHAPTER 4 THEORY
4.1 THE SUN AND ITS RADIATION
4.1.1 Components of Radiation
4.2 SEMICONDUCTORS
4.3 BASIC PRINCIPAL OF SOLAR PV CELL
4.4 SEMICONDUCTOR TYPES
4.5 ABSORPTION OF LIGHT
4.6 SOLAR CELLS AND P-N JUNCTIONS
4.7 CROSS SECTION OF A SOLAR CELL
4.8 BEHAVIOUR OF SOLAR CELLS
4.9 EFFICIENCY
4.10 PARASITIC RESISTANCES
4.11 VOLTAGE DEPENDENT OF CELL TEMPERATURE
4.12 SOLAR PV MODULES
4.13 SHADOWING ON SOLAR CELLS
4.14 OCCURENCES
4.15 NONLINEARITY OF SOLAR PV ARRAY CHARACTERISTICS UNDER
PSC
4.16 BEHAVIOR OF SOLAR CELLS IN PARALLEL CONNECTION
4.17 IRRADIATION VS CURRENT AND VOLTAGE
4.18 I-V CURVES FOR MODULE
4.19 BYPASS DIODES

CHAPTER 5 METHODOLOGY
5.1 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
5.2 INSTRUMENTS
5.2.1 Multimeter
5.3 PROCEDURE FOLLOWED
5.4 GENERATION OF SHADING PROFILES

CHAPTER 6 OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS

6.1 RESULTS

CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS
7.1 CONCLUSIONS

List of References
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figur 4.1: Components of Solar Radiation.
Figure 4.2: Schematic Representation of Covalent Bonds in a Silicon Crystal Lattice.
Figure 4.3: Schematic of The Energy Bands for Electrons in a Solid.
Figure 4.4: The Creation of Electron-Hole Pairs When Illuminated With Light of Energy
Eph=Hf Where Eph>Eg.
Figure 4.5: P-N Junction of Different Part of The Semiconductor.
Figure 4.6: Cross Section of a PV Cell.
Figure 4.7: Characteristic I-V and Power Curves of a Solar Cell.
Figure 4.8: Different Parasitic Resistance In A Solar Cell.
Figure 4.9: Effect of Rsh and Rs.
Figure 4.10: Obtaining Resistances from the I-V Curve.
Figure 4.11: Influence of parasitic resistances on a splar cell.
Figure 4.12: Influence of the temperature in a solar cell.
Figure 4.13: Relationship among PV cell, module and array.
Figure 4.14: Non linearity of PV array under PSC.
Figure 4.15: Mismatch Of Two Parallel Connected Solar Cells.
Figure 4.16: Method of calculating the combined VOC
Figure 4.17: Influence of irradiation on PV module.
Figure 4.18: I-V curve for module and arrays.
Figure 4.19: Current through bypass diode when cell is shaded.
Figure 5.1: Actual photo of solar panel.
Figure 5.2: Actual photo of multimeter.
Figure 5.3: Actual photo of solar panel with 2-cells shaded in lowermost row.
Figure 6.1: Temperature VS Current for month of MAY using horizontal shading profile in
lowermost row.
Figure 6.2: Temperature VS Voltage for month of MAY using horizontal shading profile in
lowermost row.
Figure 6.3: Temperature VS Current for month of AUGUST using horizontal shading profile
in lowermost row.
Figure 6.4: Temperature VS Voltage for month of AUGUST using horizontal shading profile
in lowermost row.
Figure 6.5: Temperature VS Current using vertical shading profile in rightmost column.
Figure 6.6: Temperature VS Voltage using vertical shading profile in rightmost column.
Figure 6.7: Temperature VS Current using vertical shading profile in sixth column.
Figure 6.8: Temperature VS Voltage using vertical shading profile in sixth column.
Figure 6.9: Temperature VS Current using vertical shading profile in leftmost column.
Figure 6.10: Temperature VS Voltage using vertical shading profile in leftmost column.
Figure 6.11: Temperature VS Current using horizontal shading profile in uppermost row.
Figure 6.12: Temperature VS Voltage using horizontal shading profile in uppermost row.
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 4.1: Comparison of different PV materials.
TABLE 6.1: Current and voltage with different shaded cells for MAY using horizontal
shaded profile in lowermost row
TABLE 6.2: Current and voltage with different shaded cells for AUGUST using horizontal
shaded profile in lowermost row
TABLE 6.3: Current and voltage with different shaded cells for using vertical shaded profile
in rightmost column
TABLE 6.4: Current and voltage with different shaded cells for using vertical shaded profile
in sixth column (counting from left)
TABLE 6.5: Current and voltage with different shaded cells for using vertical shaded profile
in leftmost column
TABLE 6.6: Current and voltage with different shaded cells for using horizontal shaded
profile in uppermost row
NOMENCLATURE

PV Photovoltaic
Eh Photon Energy
Eg Bandgap Energy
Isc Short circuit current [A]
Voc Open circuit voltage [V]
VMP Maximum Power Voltage [V]
IMP Maximum Power Current [A]
Rsh Shunt Resistance
Rs Series Resistance
G Irradiation [W/m2]
MPP Maximum Power Point
PMAX Maximum Power [W]
FF Field factor [%]
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION
So as to realize the influence of the solar energy the project starts to describe the
energy situation nowadays. Energy is an issue that touches every person on the planet.
At present in the world, especially in industrialized and emergent countries, energy
has become vital for all the human beings. Accordingly the energy demand has been
increasing dramatically in the last years.
Because of the greenhouse effect, environmental impact and the increasing cost of the
fossil fuel-based energy sources, much more energy usage from renewable sources
and more efficient utilization of conventional sources is becoming to be indispensable.
The World Resource Institute estimates that 61.4% of global greenhouse emissions
come from energy consumption. Thereby a solution that reduces these pollutants
should include investment in the fields of renewable sources and energy efficiency in
order to allow energy to play its role in the economy without endangering the
environment. [1]
The increasing of the electricity price and the increasing of the environmental impact
the world is suffering, solar energy may be considerably accepted one of the key
solutions.
Solar energy is radiant light and heat coming from the solar radiation. It is a renewable
source since the methods used to transform the solar energy into electricity don‟t
produce any smoke or pollutants. However since the power generated by this source
comes from the sunlight, it cannot be used during the night, and even during some
days when the weather is completely cloudy, rainy, snowy or another natural factors.
Solar energy can mainly be divided in two mainly sources; it can be exploited through
the solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (PV) routes for various applications. The
research has been focused on photovoltaics within the solar energy.
Solar photovoltaic modules are manufactured by semiconductor materials and they
turn the radiant energy coming from the sun into direct current and therefore,
electricity. The competitiveness of this field is increasing; in 2013, for the first time in
more than a decade, solar was over all other renewable energy technologies in the
sense of new generating capacity installed with an increase of 29 percent compared
with 2012. [2] .Worldwide total PV installations represented 1.8 GW in 2000 and 71.1
GW in 2011 with a growth rate of 44%. [3]. This has led to a situation where the
electricity from solar panels costs as much or is even cheaper than electricity
purchased from the grid is within reach. Nonetheless, solar power generation has still
some problems as follows: the conversion efficiency of solar cells is lower, and the
output power of photovoltaic (PV) array has great relationship with irradiation and
temperature. [4]
Regardless the problems described above, one of the most important and critical
problems on the photovoltaics field is the shadowing effect. Shaded conditions is
sometimes inevitable because some parts of the photovoltaic system receives less
intensity of sunlight due to several factors such as clouds, the time of the day, the
season of the year or even shadows from neighboring objects. [5]

1.2 BACKGROUND
1.2.1 RECENT INDIAN SCENARIO OF SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC
TECHNOLOGY
India is the first country in the world to set up a minister called Minister of New
And Renewable energy for non-conventional energy resources. As India is tropical
Country having high solar insolation, the best alternative measure of renewable green
energy is solar energy.
India is the fifth largest producer and end user of electricity in the world and demand
is expected to increase from 900 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) to 1,400 billion kWh by
March 2017. India is in a state of recurrent energy lack with a demand-supply gap of
almost 12% of the total energy demand. To meet this demand, Solar is the only
entirely renewable alternative energy source with the fundamental capability to satisfy
the energy needs of India. In January 2010, India‟s Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy (MNRE) under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)
declared the aim of installing 20 Gigawatts (GW) of grid-connected solar power and 2
GW of off-grid solar by 2022. In terms of overall installed PV capacity, India comes
fourth After Japan, Germany and U.S. In the area of Photovoltaic India today is the
second largest manufacturer in the world of PV panels based on crystalline solar cells.
(Industrial production in this area has grasped a level of 11 Mapper year About 10%of
the world‟s overall PV production PV panels based on crystalline solar cells).A major
drive has also been initiated by the Government to trade Indian PV products, systems,
technologies and services.

1.2.2 RESEARCH MOTIVATIONS

Due to the day by day increasing energy demand, shortage and environmental impacts
of conventional energy sources, more attention has been given to utilize the renewable
energy. In a tropical Asian country like India, the most promising alternative of
renewable green energy resource of the future is the sun. Since this energy source is
free, abundant, feasible and environmental friendly, it become more popular.Although
there are several benefits in solar energy, there are some challenges that obstruct its
growth. The two main challenges are low conversion efficiency and its erratic nature
of power output.
To improve the conversion efficiency of the PV System, a technique is adopte which
is known as Maximum power point tracking. MPPT make the PV system to operate at
its maximum power. As such, many MPPT techniques have been introduced and
implemented. By conventional popular MPPT methods, it‟s easier to find the
maximum power in nonlinear P-V curve under uniform insolation, as there will be a
single maxima.However, under partially shaded conditions, these MPPTs can fail to
track the real MPP because of the multiple local maxima which can be appeared on P-
V characteristic curve.On the impact of partial shading on PV panels and the failure of
the conventional MPPT techniques during partial shading, several research articles
have been archived. Some of the researchers have tried global search algorithm to find
global maxima with the use of processors. This project involves developing a compact
MPPT DC-DC converter which uses local dithering algorithm to obtain the local
maximum power while ensuring that real global maximum power is always tracked
with the help of global search algorithm.
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

I began my research on the project by reviewing a number of papers on the subject of
shadowing conditions of PV arrays, the efficiency of solar panels and the change that
occurs to the power output of a solar array under Partial shading conditions. Below are
some of the papers that I found were the most suitable for the kind of work I planned
to do in this project. These papers gave me an insight into the technology currently out
there and the direction I should take for my own studies.
Many literatures are on the topic modelling of solar photovoltaic (PV) array. M. G.
Villalva et.al. [6], proposed a method of modelling and simulation of photovoltaic
arrays. The main objective of this paper was to find the parameters of nonlinear I-V
equation. In this paper effect of temperature and irradiation on the parameters of the I-
V equation also discussed. The author has given summary of these MPPT techniques
and their implementation methods which serve as a useful guide in choosing the right
MPPT method for specific PV systems.

H. Patel et al, [7], [8] have discussed about specifically partial shading condition and
extensive study about the partial shading condition has been done by the author. They
made a generalized programme for PV array simulation.The studies in [9] and [10]
show that when the PV array is under partially shaded conditions (PSC), the array
characteristics become more complex with multiple MPPs. PSC is defined as the
circumstance where one or more of the PV modules in the array received less amount
of solar irradiance.

In another paper by Basim A. Alsayid et al,[11] MATLAB software has been

developed to simulate the behavior of PV modules with different configurations under
variable meteorological conditions, in particular the impact of partial shading.
Experimental measurement has been done and the validity of the simulation software
has been verified.

A study done by Shubra et al,[12] shows that the modules with bypass diode function
are able to show more power output and lower temperature increase than conventional
modules when a part of them is shaded and emphasize on the need of by-pass diodes
for safer operation in residential use.

A research conducted by Ekpenyong et al,[13] is concerned with the effects of partial

shading scenario in presence of by-pass diodes over a number of series connected
solar cells for a given loaded condition. The results discuss the feasibility of
mathematical techniques to compute the effect in terms of output variables.

A thesis conducted by Hla Hla Khaing et al, [14] shows the effects of partial shadow
on the energy yield of conventional mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline PV
modules have been researched for a long time. With deployment of new thin-film
solar PV modules in the market, it is important to understand the performance of new
PV modules operating under the partial shadow in the tropical zone. This paper
addresses the impacts of different partial shadowing on the operating characteristics of
four different types of solar PV modules that include multi-crystalline, amorphous
thin-film, CdTe thin-film and CIGS thin-film PV modules.

Paper by Sarkar et al [15], helps analyze the shading on a solar panel which is caused
by steady clouds. This may help to increase the efficiency of a solar panel. Various
methods of Image processing technique is used to get the desired output. Those
methods include techniques like median filtering and various morphological functions
like usage of structuring element which gives the desired output. The problem of
Boundary Estimation of a shading patter on a solar panel is addressed. The bypass
diode is used to bypass the shaded area on the panel, which in turn helps to increase
the efficiency of a solar panel by a significant amount. This method takes care of
processing all kinds of shade on the solar panel from whatever source the shade is
generated from.

A paper written by salem et al [16], presents a methodology for detection and

assessment of partial shading conditions in photovoltaic (PV) arrays based on artificial
neural networks (ANN) as a preliminary step toward automatic supervision and
monitoring. The PV array is modeled under normal and partial shading conditions for
performance comparison. ANN is designed, trained, and tested for full identification
of the partial shading condition. One ANN detects the presence of partial shading and
distinguishes it from the uniform change in environmental conditions.

A work performed by salvadores et al,[17] aims to study the shadowing effect on the
performance in solar photovoltaic modules. First of all two modules have been
analyzed in order to get a better understanding of the performance of the bypass
diodes in the solar PV modules. The second part of the project has focused on three
different systems. A string of 6 modules of 60 cells per module, 6 modules with 6 DC-
DC optimizers and three micro inverters for six modules have been the target of this
research.

A work performed by Shukla et al,[18] focuses on a program developed in

MATLAB/Simulink of 36W photovoltaic module. This program is based on
mathematical equations and is described through an equivalent circuit including a
photocurrent source, a diode, a series resistor and a shunt resistor. The developed
program allows the prediction of PV module behavior under different physical and
environmental parameters. This program can also be used to extract the physical
parameters for a given solar PV module as a function of temperature and solar
radiation.

Finally, a other study done by kaundal et al,[19] shows a system design that will
detect the underperforming panel in the entire grid is proposed and validated.
With the help of wireless sensor network, grid monitoring for individual panel has
been achieved for the first time with proposed system. The grid and control room is
also connected wirelessly which enables the engineer monitoring the grid to
meticulously locate the individual solar photovoltaic cell which is underachieving and
solve the issue pertaining the same.

CHAPTER 3
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROBLEM

3.1 OBJECTIVE
According to the problem of shadowing that involves a big drop on the performance
of solar photovoltaic modules, the following pages describes how the shadows change
the energy and power output in solar PV panels.

This thesis presents an experimental study of performance of solar PV panels under

various shading conditions. Experimental ways are sometimes more accurate because
one need not to consider idealization of real problem on account of some process
variables. How presence of bypass diodes impedes some losses due to shading profile
is discussed.

Study has been conducted on a solar PV module installed at department of mechanical

engineering at nit Jalandhar. Effects due to shadowing is taken into account by
observing precisely the variable parameters including generated current and
instantaneous voltage corresponding to various temperatures throughout a day on a
regular hour basis. These measurements are taken as a set with respect to unshaded
and shaded conditions which then consist shadow on different number of cells of
module in a row or column, by keeping temperature constant for every set of
observations. These observations have been taken during two months i.e., May and
July so as to observe performance at higher temperatures as well as to show the effect
of sessional irradiance changes in the small.
A multi-meter has been used for measuring current, voltage and ambient temperatures
throughout the study. This instrument is sufficiently precise and appropriate for
measuring instantaneous currents and voltages as this study is not focused on
recording the continuous changes in these variables but instead shows the behavior at
a more basic and discrete but realistic level.

The objectives of the study can be stated as:

1) To look at the behavior of a solar PV array with the presence of bypass diodes
and, for unshaded and shaded conditions by measuring various parameters
(voltage, current) corresponding to these conditions to show the severe effect of
shading conditions on the output of PV arrays.

2) Discuss the performance of solar PV array in terms of output parameters with

respect to some input parameters (irradiation and temperature) and show the
variation relations between the same.

3) Compare the performance of solar PV array for various shading profiles and to
find which one is more critical and results in total loss in terms of output
variables.
 CHAPTER 4
THEORY

THEORY:
In this section, it is going to present all the knowledge and concepts necessaries to
understand all the project. Great part of the information has been synthetized from
[20].

4.1 THE SUN AND ITS RADIATION

The sun is a hot atmosphere of gas heated by nuclear fusion reactions at its center. Its
diameter is about 1.39x109 m and is, on the average 1.5x1011m from the earth. As
seen from the earth, the sun rotates on its axis about once every 4 weeks. However it
does not rotate as a solid body; the equator takes about 27 days and the Polar Regions
take about 30 days for each rotation. [21]
The energy produced in the interior of the solar sphere at temperatures of many
millions of degrees must be transferred out to the surface and then be radiated into
space. A succession of radiative and convective processes occur with successive
emission, absorption and reradiation. In the subchapter below the different types of
radiation that reaches the Earth‟s surface will be described.

4.1.1 COMPONENTS OF RADIATION

Solar radiation incident on the atmosphere from the direction of the sun is the solar
extraterrestrial beam radiation. This radiation passing through the earth‟s atmosphere
is attenuated, or reduced, by about 30%. Beneath the atmosphere, at the Earth‟s
surface, the radiation that will be observable are:
a) Beam Radiation. The solar radiation received from the sun without having been
scattered by the atmosphere.

b) Diffuse Radiation. The solar radiation received from the sun after its direction has
been changed by scattering by the atmosphere. [21]

Therefore, the total sum of the beam and the diffuse solar radiation on a surface is
called Total Solar Radiation. The components of the solar radiation can be observed in
the figure below:

FIGUR4.1: COMPONENTS OF SOLAR RADIATION

4.2 SEMICONDUCTORS
Solar cells are manufactured from semiconductor materials. This type of materials
acts as insulators at low temperatures but as conductors when energy or heat is
available. So far, most solar cells are made by silicon-based, since this is the most
mature technology. However, other materials are under active investigation and may
supersede silicon in the long term. [20]. The electrical properties of semiconductors
can be explained using two different theories:

1. At low temperatures, the bonds joining the silicon atoms are intact, so the silicon
acts as an insulator. However, at higher temperatures, some of these bonds are broken
and two processes can be taken place; electrons from the broken bond are able to
move, and the ones from the neighboring bonds can also move to the broken bond,
allowing the broken bond to propagate as if it had a positive charge. This phenomenon
is called the bond model.

FIGURE 4.2: SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF COVALENT BONDS IN A SILICON CRYSTAL LATTICE

2. The band model. The electrons in covalent bonds have energies corresponding to
those in the valence band. In the conduction band the electrons are free. The minimum
energy needed to release an electron from a covalent bond to the conduction band it‟s
called the forbidden gap. The holes remaining conduct in the opposite direction in the
valence band, as described for the bond model.

FIGURE 4.3: SCHEMATIC OF THE ENERGY BANDS FOR ELECTRONS IN A SOLID

4.3 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF SOLAR CELL

A solar cell in presence of solar radiations, works on a principle called Photovoltaic
effect. As any radiation fall on the surface of a unit cell, the corresponding photon
transfers its some energy to any electron which in turn at high energies acts as a free
charge and also leaves a positive charge called hole in the process. The creation of
these free charge carriers results in a voltage developed across the cell and so the
process is called photovoltaic effect.

4.4 SEMICONDUCTOR TYPES

There are three mainly types of semiconductor materials used for solar cells;
crystalline, multi crystalline and amorphous semiconductors. The research of these
material is focused on silicon matter.
1. Crystalline silicon. In this case the atoms are arranged in a regular pattern. Since the
careful and slow manufacturing processes, this material is the most expensive one.

2. Multi crystalline or polycrystalline silicon. Regions of crystalline Si separated by

„grain boundaries‟, where bounding is irregular. It is cheaper to produce since the
techniques are less critical.
3. Amorphous silicon. It can be produced more cheaply than polysilicon, since there is
no long-range order in the structural arrangement of the atoms, resulting in areas
within the material containing unsatisfied bonds.
In the table below we can compare the various materials and combination of materials
used for manufacturing of a PV cell on the basis of different parameters:

TABLE 4.1: COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT PV MATERIALS

4.5 ABSORPTION OF LIGHT
When the light drops into semiconductor material, photons with energy Eph greater
than the forbidden gap, Eg, interact with electrons in covalent bonds, using up their
energy to break bonds and create electron-hole pairs, which can then circulate
independently. The next figure shows how electron wanders off due to the energy of
the photons. It will explained in the next part how solar cells produces a voltage and a
current flows through a solar cell.

FIGURE4.4: THE CREATION OF ELECTRON-HOLE PAIRS WHEN ILLUMINATED WITH LIGHT OF ENERGY EPH=HF
WHERE EPH>EG

4.6 SOLAR CELLS AND P-N JUNCTIONS

A solar cell is a photodiode made by joining the p-type and n-type silicon. To
understand how it works is better to know how P-type and N-type silicon works. A
brief explanation may be when p-type and n-type silicon are joined this phenomenon
is called P-N junction. It can be observed in the figures below:

FIGURE 4.5: P-N JUNCTION OF DIFFERENT PART OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR

The p-type has an excess of holes but few electrons and the n-type has many electrons
but few holes. When the two different semiconductors are joined, and the light is
switched on as it has been showed before the electrons in the n-type flow to the p-type
semiconductor, and meanwhile the holes flow from the p-type to the n-type. An
electric field is built up to stop this flow created and therefore a voltage will be built
in. Since this electric field is not large enough to stop the flow of electrons and holes a
current is produced.

4.7 CROSS SECTION OF A SOLAR CELL

The following image shows the typical cross section of a solar PV cell mounted to
give an output. Various parts are also indicated:
 FIGURE 4.6: CROSS SECTION OF A PV CELL

4.8 BEHAVIOUR OF SOLAR CELLS

When the light is falling on a solar cell, it behaves as the following formula (1),
obtained from the Ideal Diode Law [20]:
𝐼=𝐼𝐿−𝐼o [exp (𝑞𝑉/𝑛𝑘𝑇) −1] (1)
Where:
- I is the current
- Io is the current when no light is falling on the cell: it increases as T increases, and it
increases as material quality increases
- q is the charge on an electron
- k is Boltzmann‟s constant
- T is absolute temperature
- n is the ideality factor (between 1 and 2). It increases as the current decreases. For
silicon n=2 and 𝐼I is the light-generated current.
The characteristic curve represent all of the combinations of current and voltage at
which the module or cell can be operated or loaded. Normally simple in shape, these
curves actually provide the most complete measure of the health and capacity of a PV
module or array, providing much more information than traditional electrical test
methods. [22]

FIGURE7: CHARACTERISTIC I-V AND POWER CURVES OF A SOLAR CELL [10]

Here two different parameters have to be introduced:

a) Short circuit current Isc . Is the maximum current, given when voltage is 0.
b) Open circuit voltage Voc. Is the maximum voltage, given at zero current.

There is also a relevant point, MPP is the maximum power point, therefore the point
where the product of Vmp*Imp is at its maximum value. Another important parameter
is the fill factor (FF) is the ratio between Pmax and Isc*Voc. It gives an information
about the quality of the solar cell, if it increases so do the quality of the solar cell.

4.9 EFFICIENCY (η)

The ratio of the output power Pout, compared to the solar input power, Pin is called
efficiency of Solar Cell. Pout can be taken to be PMAX since the solar cell can be
operated up to its maximum power output to get the maximum efficiency.

Efficiency= Pout/Pin
Pin is taken as the product of the irradiance of the incident light, measured in W/m2 or
in suns (1000 W/m2), with the surface area of the solar cell [m2]. The maximum
efficiency (ηMAX) found from a light test is not only an indication of the performance
of the device under test, but, like all of the I-V parameters, can also be affected by
ambientconditions such as temperature and the intensity and spectrum of the incident
light. For this reason, it is recommended to test and compare PV cells using similar
lighting and temperature conditions.

4.10 PARASITIC RESISTANCES

However this curve describes the case of an ideal solar cell. An ideal solar cell is
modeled by a current source, representing the photo-generated current IL, in parallel
with a diode, representing the p–n junction of a solar cell. In a real solar cell, there
exist other effects. Two of these extrinsic effects include:
1) current leaks proportional to the terminal voltage of a solar cell characterized by a
parallel resistance Rsh and
2) losses of semiconductor itself and of the metal contacts with the semiconductor
characterized by a series resistance Rs. [22]
The electrical disposition of those resistances as well as the model of a solar cell can
be observed in the following image:
 FIGURE 4.8: DIFFERENT PARASITIC RESISTANCE IN A SOLAR CELL

For an ideal cell, RSH would be infinite and would not give an alternate path for
current to flow, while RS would be zero, resulting in no further voltage drop before the
load. Decreasing RSH and increasing Rs will decrease the fill factor (FF) and PMAX as
shown in Figure 4.8. If RSH is decreased too much, VOC will drop, while increasing RS
excessively can cause ISC to drop instead.

Figure 4.9: Effect of Rs & RSH

It is possible to approximate the series and shunt resistances, RS and RSH, from the
slopes of the I-V curve at VOC and ISC, respectively. The resistance at Voc, however,
is at best proportional to the series resistance but it is larger than the series resistance.
RSH is represented by the slope at ISC. Typically, the resistances at ISC and at VOC
will be measured and noted, as shown in Figure 4.10:
 FIGURE 4.10: OBTAINING RESISTANCES FROM THE I-V CURVE

If incident light is prevented from exciting the solar cell, the I-V curve shown in
Figure 4.11 can be obtained. This I-V curve is simply a reflection of the “No Light”
curve from Figure 1 about the V-axis. The slope of the linear region of the curve in the
third quadrant (reverse-bias) is a continuation of the linear region in the first quadrant,
which is the same linear region used to calculate RSH in Figure 4.11. It follows that
RSH can be derived from the I-V plot obtained with or without providing light
excitation, even when power is sourced to the cell. It is important to note, however,
that for real cells, these resistances are often a function of the light level, and can
differ in value between the light and dark tests.
So, the formula including the impact of the parasitic resistances is: [23]
𝐼=𝐼𝐿−𝐼0[exp(𝑞𝑉𝑛𝑘𝑇)−1]−𝑉+𝐼𝑅𝑠/𝑅𝑠ℎ (2)

It can be seen the impact of the resistances in the IV curve below:

FIGURE 4.11: INFLUENCE OF PARASITIC RESISTANCES IN A SOLAR CELL.

In this case 𝑅𝑠=4.2 Ω∗𝑐𝑚2 and 𝑅𝑠ℎ=135.5 Ω∗𝑐𝑚2 The results for the cell with no
parasitic resistances are: Voc = 0.623 V; Isc= 35 mA/cm2 and the FF=0.83. However,
the results for the real cell are: Voc = 0.601 V; Isc= 33.9 mA/cm2 and the FF=0.58.
So, it has shown how the parasitic resistances drops the output of a solar cell.

4.11 VOLTAGE DEPENDENT OF CELL TEMPERATURE

The temperature of a cells is modified mainly by the ambient air temperature, the
wind velocity and the sunlight intensity. The crystals used to make PV cells, like all
semiconductors, are sensitive to temperature. When a PV cell is exposed to higher
temperatures, ISC increases slightly, while VOC decreases more significantly.
For a specified set of ambient conditions, higher temperatures result in a decrease in
the maximum power output PMAX. Since the I-V curve will vary according to
temperature, it is beneficial to record the conditions under which the I-V sweep was
conducted. Temperature can be measured using sensors such as RTDs, thermistors or
thermocouples.
It is important to remark the main effect of a solar cell suffers when the temperature
increases is a drop on the voltage. When the temperature of one cell is increasing there
is a drop on the cell voltage as it is shown on the graph below. The open circuit
voltage, Voc increases when the cell temperature decreases, and therefore the Vmp
also increases. On right side of the figure, the Power curve shows the same change in
the power output. The power increases when the cell temperature decreases.

FIGURE 4.12: INFLUENCE OF THE TEMPERATURE IN A SOLAR CELL ON THE VOC

4.12 SOLAR PV MODULES

A solar PV module is a photovoltaic system composed of a number of solar cells to
supply solar power. Since the maximum voltage given by a solar cell is about 600mV
cells are connected in series in order to collect higher voltage. Standard solar- PV cell
gives about 36V and it consists in 60 cells divided in 6 columns. In this research it has
been studied on a standard PV module.
 FIGURE 4.13: RELATIONSHIP AMONG PV CELL, MODULE AND ARRAY

4.13 SHADOWING ON SOLAR CELLS

It is very common to find solar cells which have lower output than the maximum one,
due to several causes such as manufacturing defects, degradation of cells, high
temperatures on the solar cell, or partial shading. This chapter has been focused on the
power drop due to shadowing effect. A cell can be seen as a combination of a current
generator and a diode. The photo current goes in the reverse direction of the diode.
This means that if one cell is partially shaded, it will produce less current than the
other cells in the string, and the other cells will try to push more current through the
poor cell than the poor cell deliver. This is however not possible since then the cell
acts as a diode in the reverse direction. Then the current produced in the poor cell will
limit the current in the string. Bypass diodes have to be installed in order to avoid the
current losses either to avoid the restriction of the current.One of the point that is
going to be discuss here is that an installed solar PV array, working properly and
giving desired output can totally cease to function and can be put in a condition of
zero output even if a small amount of shading is present.

4.14 OCCURRENCES
Few reasons for occurrences in the partial shading of a SPVA:
(a) An obstruction or object covering a section of the array for a period (e.g. The
shade of neighbor building or nearby trees falling across the array).
(b) Loose debris, leaves, dirt covering a portion of the array.
(c) The sun moving behind cloud cover for a few minutes.
(d) The bird droppings and other unwanted opaque objects over the array etc.
4.15 NONLINEARITY OF SOLAR PV ARRAY CHARACTERISTICS
UNDER PSC
A PV array is composed of several PV modules connected in series-parallel to get the
desired voltage and current. To protect modules from hot-spot problem, the bypass
diodes are connected in parallel with each PV module. And the blocking diode is
connected in series with each string, which is a group of series connected PV module,
to protect the modules from the effect of potential difference between series connected
strings. When the solar irradiance on PV array is identical, only one MPP is existed on
the P-V characteristic curve of PV array. However, because of the bypass diodes and
the blocking diodes, numerous local maximum power points (multiple local maxima)
can be existed under partially shaded condition.
Fig. 13 shows a PV array composed of 3×2 modules and its characteristic curves
under PSC. There are two local MPPs on the P-V curve, however, only one of them is
the real MPP.

FIGURE 4.14: NONLINEARITY OF SOLAR PV ARRAY CHARACTERISTICS UNDER PSC

4.16 BEHAVIOR OF SOLAR CELLS IN PARALLEL CONNECTION

In practice all the cells have different characteristics, hence when some cells are
connected the module output is limited by the lowest one. This subchapter is focused
on the output of two mismatched cells when they are connected in parallel. When one
of the two cells will have lower output caused by shadowing problems, degradation or
higher temperatures, in the graphs below it can be observed how to get the combined
current of the two cells and how to get the open circuit voltage.

FIGURE 4.15: MISMATCH OF TWO PARALLEL CONNECTED SOLAR CELLS

In the figures above, it can be seen two different IV curves for the two mismatched
cells in parallel. The combined curve is determined by summing the currents I1 and I2
for each voltage V. On the other hand, an easy method to calculate VOC of two
mismatched cells in parallel consist on reflect one of the curve for one cell in the
voltage axis so that the intersection point is the VOC of the parallel configuration. It
can be observed on the figure below:

FIGURE 4.16: METHOD OF CALCULATING THE COMBINED VOC

4.17 IRRADIATION VS CURRENT AND VOLTAGE

As it has been mentioned before, current and voltage are dependent of the irradiation.
Irradiation changes every time due to clouds and solar time of the place where it is
measured. The current and the voltage measured in a module are related to the
irradiation shown in the formulas [24] as it follows:

𝐼𝑟𝑒𝑓=𝐼𝑚∗(1+𝛼𝑟𝑒𝑙∗(𝑇2−𝑇1))∗𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑓/𝐺𝑚 (3)

𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓=𝑉𝑚+𝑉𝑂𝐶𝑚∗(𝛽𝑟𝑒𝑙∗(𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑓−𝑇𝑚)+𝑎∗ln(𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑓/𝐺𝑚))−𝑅𝑠∗(𝐼𝑟𝑒𝑓−𝐼𝑚)−𝑘′𝐼𝑟𝑒𝑓(𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑓−T𝑚)
(4)

Where The subscripts ref and m refer to the reference of the irradiance level required,
respectively the measured, conditions; V is the voltage; VOC is the module open
voltage; I is the current; G is the irradiance; 𝛼𝑟𝑒𝑙 and 𝛽𝑟𝑒𝑙 are the relative current and
voltage temperature coefficients; a is a constant (usually taken equal to 0.06); Rs is the
internal series resistance; k‟ can be interpreted as the temperature coefficient of the
internal series resistance.Because of the reference where the formulas are extracted
from and the results obtained in this project show it‟s possible to simplify the
formulas, and the current through module is approximately proportional to the
irradiance [16] those ones can be reduced as:

𝐼𝑟𝑒𝑓=𝐼𝑚∗𝐺𝑚/𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑓 (5)

𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓≅𝑉𝑚 (6)

It can be observed in the next graphs how the I-V curve changes in a PV module for
different values of irradiation:

FIGURE 4.17: INFLUENCE OF SOLAR IRRADIATION IN A PV MODULE

As it can be seen, irradiation level is proportional to the current, hence the power
output increases as irradiation level does.
4.18 I-V CURVES FOR MODULES
For a module or array of PV cells, the shape of the I-V curve does not change.
However, it is scaled based on the number of cells connected in series and in parallel.
When n is the number of cells connected in series and m is the number of cells
connected in parallel and ISC and VOC are values for individual cells, the I-V curve
shown in Figure below is produced:

FIGURE 4.18: I-V CURVE FOR MODULES AND ARRAYS

4.19 BYPASS DIODES

Normally, a bypass diode in parallel with a number of cells in series connected either
in a PV module is useful to mitigate the impacts of shading on P–V curve.
The photo below shows four bypass diodes connected in parallel with four cells in
series connected. Bypass diodes in normal conditions, when no shades affects to the
PV-module the diode is reverse biased and each cell generates power. However, when
a cell is shaded the diode across to the cell will start to conduct and therefore bypassed
the shaded cell.
 FIGURE 4.19: CURRENT THROUGH BY-PASS DIODE WHEN CELL IS SHADED

CHAPTER 5
METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY
The methodology and details of experimental setup is as follows:

5.1 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The study is based on a solar photovoltaic array installed at Mechanical Department at
National Institute of Technology Jalandhar. The module is made up of crystalline
silicon. This system consists of 60 unit cells connected together to form a PV array.
The system follows 10 unit cells in each of 6 rows. Each ounit cell has an operating
voltage 600mV. Thus whole array produces 36V. The system is placed facing
southwards and maximum power produced by panel is 230W. The actual photograph
of the
solar PV
module
studied
is below:

FIGURE 5.1: ACTUAL PHOTO OF SOLAR PANEL

5.2 INSTRUMENTS USED

5.2.1 MULTIMETER
A multi-meter is used for measuring output currents and voltages for various ambient
temperatures. These temperatures were also measured by multimeter. For current
measurements, since small currents are employed, appropriate range of instruments is
needed and in this study currents are measured for 20 ampere range of multi-meter
and thus providing a precise and variation sensitive tool for measurement of current.
For voltage measurements 200V range is chosen of multi-meter which gives
sufficiently accurate readings. Since very small fluctuations in voltage is expected,
this range is appropriate for detecting such small fluctuations. Finally ambient
temperatures are measured with same multimeter.
 FIGURE 5.2: ACTUAL PHOTO OF MULTIMETER

5.3 PROCEDURE FOLLOWED

Measurements of currents and voltages are taken in clear sunny days with no shading
occurring naturally and irradiation being high (more than 1000 W/m2 at all times). The
readings are taken in months of May and August and for five consecutive days for
each month to see the effect of irradiation on the output variables, i.e. current and
voltage and in doing so we employ single shading profile. Further, observations are
recorded,during single month of august, for various output vriables by employing five
types of different shading profiles in order to study the effect of different types of
shading conditions consisting different number of cells shaded for one particular
shading profile.
These measurements are taken during a day on a regular hourly basis starting from
9:00 am and ending at 4:00 pm for different shading conditions simultaneously, as
these hours are the main hours for solar PV array and these show a considerable
temperature variations throughout the day. However, in computing final results, only
average values of measured parameters are considered over five days of
measurements to avoid any drastic influence in results due to any local day ambient
condition. Thus we see the effect of temperature variations on the current and voltage
for different shading profiles in order to understand the relations and ongoing
interactions. Measurements corresponding to unshaded PV array is taken first and then
corresponding to various shaded conditions. These shaded profiles consist are
generated by first shading one cell at a time and then progressing in any desired
manner (in the same row or in the same column) by adding its‟ adjacent cells, each at
a time, into shading condition and to generate different types of shading profiles.

5.4 GENERTION OF SHADING PROFILES

Shading is generated by using opaque cardboards of proper shape and sizes so that no
light can reach the shaded cell. First for studying the effect of irradiation, a horizontal
shading profile is employed in which, first the rightmost corner cell of the lowermost
row is shaded, then it‟s left adjacent cell in the same row is added up to shading
conditions and likewise, in the same row, consecutive cells are shaded adding one
more cell at each time.
Similarly, five cells are shaded progressively adding one cell each time while going
from right to left in lowest row to form different shading profiles. Thus we get five
different shading conditions for studying the behavior by taking the measurements.
Thus we get a set of total six different measurements (one for shaded and five for
unshaded) of current and voltage corresponding to one temperature recorded at hourly
basis for study the effect of irradiation.

PV module with no shading PV module with 3-cells shaded

Second, four more types of different shading profiles are used for comparing the
effects due to position of shading profiles. They are:
 FIGURE 5.3: ACTUAL PHOTO OF SOLAR PANEL WITH 2-CELLS SHADED

1) Vertical shading profile starting from right cornermost cell of lowermost row
and progressing in the rightmost column verticallty upwards by adding one
adjacent cell at each time.

2) Vertical shading profile starting from sixth cell (counting from left) of
lowermost row and progressing in the same sixth column verticallty upwards
by adding one adjacent cell at each time.

3) shading profile starting from left cornermost cell of lowermost row and
progressing in the leftmost column verticallty upwards by adding one adjacent
cell at each time.
4) Horizontal shading profile starting from leftmost cell of uppermost row and
progressing in the uppermost row horizontally rightwards by adding one
adjacent cell at each time.
 CHAPTER 6
OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS

6.1 OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS

First a table of various currents and voltages corresponding to various temperatures
with different shadings occurring simultaneously is obtained for both months of
observation. Then plots between temperature vs current and temperature vs voltage
are shown in following figures for data in observation table.
In temperature vs current and temperature vs voltage plots, data points are taken for
different shading profiles which corresponds measurements at different temperatures.
All the five shading profiles are employed one by one.

1) HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN LOWERMOST ROW

Five consecutive cells are shaded starting from one cell of corner.
 TABLE 6.1: CURRENTS AND VOLTAGE FOR HORIZONTAL PROFILE IN LOWERMOST ROW

CURRENTS (A) AND VOLTAGE (V) FOR HORIZONTAL PROFILE IN

TIME AMBIENT LOWERMOST ROW
TEMPERATURE
(◦C) NO Shade 1-Cell 2-Cell 3-Cell 4-Cell 5-Cell

9:00 AM 30 5.71 A 5.54 A 1.81 A 0.22 A 0.18 A 0.08 A

32.29 V 32.12 V 31.93 V 31.76 V 31.48 V 31.27 V

10:00 AM 31 5.98 A 5.63 A 1.85 A 0.19 A 0.20 A 0.15 A

32.27 V 32.01 V 31.88 V 31.79 V 31.52 V 31.40 V

11:00 AM 32.5 6.16 A 5.69 A 2.04 A 0.35 A 0.31 A 0.19 A

32.36 V 32.11 V 31.89 V 31.72 V 31.67 V 31.53 V

12:00 PM 33.5 6.41 A 6.03 A 2.17 A 0.38 A 0.28 A 0.22 A

32.33 V 32.24 V 31.96 V 31.61 V 31.49 V 31.04 V

1:00 PM 35 6.70 A 6.14 A 2.30 A 0.29 A 0.23 A 0.14 A

32.49 V 32.21 V 31.93 V 31.83 V 31.53 V 31.37 V

2:00 PM 36 6.88 A 6.07 A 2.14 A 0.32 A 0.26 A 0.15 A

32.44 V 32.19 V 31.86 V 31.65 V 31.44 V 31.07 V

3:00 PM 34.5 6.62 A 5.98 A 2.00 A 0.28 A 0.18 A 0.17 A

32.38 V 32.35 V 31.92 V 31.74 V 31.32 V 31.13 V

4:00 PM 34 6.23 A 5.85 A 2.03 A 0.19 A 0.22 A 0.12 A

32.30 V 32.08 V 31.80 V 31.68 V 31.31 V 31.09 V
 temperature vs current
8

5
current (I)

0
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
Temperature (◦C)

no shade 1-cell 2-cell 3-cell 4-cell 5-cell

FIGURE 6.1: TEMPERATURE VS CURRENT FOR MONTH OF MAY USING HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN
LOWERMOST ROW.

In this plot, it is clear that currents for condition corresponding to any particular
numbers of cells shaded increases with temperature but on comparing all
configurations consisting different number of cells, we can see that current reduces to
a low value as soon as 2-cells are shaded. Further, whenever 3-cells or more are
shaded, current drops to almost zero values. Also, if only cornermost cell is shaded,
there is very slight current drop occurring at any temperature.
 Temperature vs Voltage
32.6

32.4

32.2

32
Voltage (V)

31.8

31.6

31.4

31.2

31

30.8
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
Temperature (◦C)
no shade 1-cell shaded 2-cells shaded 3-cells shaded 4-cells shaded 5-cells shaded

FIGURE 6.2: TEMPERATURE VS VOLTAGE FOR MONTH OF MAY USING HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN
LOWERMOST ROW.

This graph shows that a voltage drop occurs whenever shading profiles are placed. At
any particular temperature, the voltage drop between any two successive shaded
conditions is not the same. Also for every two successive shaded conditions, the
voltage drop is not same for all temperatures. But this drop is typically in the range of
150-300mV between every successive profile. For shading profiles of more than 1-
cell, though voltages drop is not significant, currents are very low.

These figures also indicates that while, on shading, voltages drop is in the small range,
their corresponding currents drop abrupltly when more and more shading is applied.
Also for shading profiles consisting more than 2-cells shaded, the voltage variation is
only measurable for different number of shaded cells (however it is small) but the
currents fall in almost same ranges (having very low values).
 TABLE 6.2: CURRENT AND VOLTAGE WITH DIFFERENT SHADED CELLS FOR AUGUST
USING HORIZONTAL PROFILE IN LOWERMOST ROW

CURRENTS (A) AND VOLTAGES (V) FOR HORIZONTAL SHADING

TIME AMBIENT PROFILE IN THE LOWERMOST ROW
TEMPERATURE
(◦C) NO Shade 1-Cell 2-Cell 3-Cell 4-Cell 5-Cell

9:00 AM 28.5 5.13 A 4.69 A 1.15 A 0.12 A 0.07 A 0.06 A

31.02 V 30.86 V 30.63 V 30.57 V 30.43 V 30.08 V

10:00 AM 29.5 5.26 A 4.84 A 1.37 A 0.15 A 0.08 A 0.04 A

31.09 V 30.92 V 30.60 V 30.52 V 30.36 V 30.13 V

11:00 AM 31 5.53 A 4.99 A 1.53 A 0.23 A 0.16 A 0.09 A

31.15 V 30.95 V 30.74 V 30.48 V 30.29 V 30.10 V

12:00 PM 32 5.81 A 5.36 A 1.77 A 0.25 A 0.21 A 0.11 A

31.07 V 30.88 V 30.75 V 30.53 V 30.33 V 30.16 V

1:00 PM 33.5 6.19 A 5.45 A 1.86 A 0.28 A 0.20 A 0.13 A

31.11 V 30.91 V 30.79 V 30.59 V 30.41 V 30.24 V

2:00 PM 34 6.33 A 5.76 A 1.91 A 0.21 A 0.20 A 0.15 A

31.24 V 31.09 V 30.84 V 30.70 V 30.45 V 30.18 V

3:00 PM 33 6.24 A 5.53 A 1.62 A 0.18 A 0.14 A 0.09 A

31.25 V 31.00 V 30.78 V 30.61 V 30.37 V 30.02 V

4:00 PM 32.5 6.06 A 5.31 A 1.41 A 0.13 A 0.10 A 0.07 A

31.18 V 30.98 V 30.82 V 30.62 V 30.38 V 30.11 V
 Temperature vs Current
7
6
5
Current (A)

4
3
2
1
0
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Temperature (◦C)

no shade 1-cell shaded 2-cells shaded

3-cells shaded 4-cells shaded 5-cells shaded

FIGURE 6.3: TEMPERATURE VS CURRENT FOR MONTH OF AUGUST USING HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN
LOWERMOST ROW.

Temperature vs Voltage
31.4

31.2

31
Voltage (V)

30.8

30.6

30.4

30.2

30
28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Temperature (◦C)

no shade 1-cell shaded 2-cells shaded 3-cells shaded 4-cells shaded 5-cells shaded

FiGURE 6.4: TEMPERATURE VS VOLTAGE FOR MONTH OF AUGUST USING HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN
LOWERMOST ROW

The variation due to irradiation can be easily seen as the operating ranges of currents
and voltages drop down a small for these set of readings. As lower temperatures are
employed, we get somewhat low current and voltage. However the trend shown by
these plots is the same as that for first set of observations, thus conforming the
ongoing relations between different process variables.
(2) VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN RIGHTMOST COLUMN

TABLE 6.3: CURRENT AND VOLTAGE WITH DIFFERENT SHADED CELLS FOR VERTICAL
PROFILE I RIGHTMOST COLUMN

TIME AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE CURRENTS AND VOLTAGES FOR VERTICAL SHADING CONDITION IN
(◦C) RIGHTMOST COLUMN
NO
SHADE 1-Cell 2-Cell 3-Cell 4-Cell

10:00 AM 29 30.97 V 30.83 V 30.70 V 30.49 V 30.34 V

5.32 A 5.09 A 1.26 A 0.15 A 0.08 A

11:00 AM 30.5 31.13 V 30.94 V 30.76 V 30.52 V 30.31 V

5.65 A 5.26 A 1.34 A 0.12 A 0.07 A

12:00 PM 31.5 31.19 V 31.03 V 30.80 V 30.64 V 30.47 V

5.94 A 5.41 A 1.65 A 0.22 A 0.12 A

1:00 PM 32.5 31.26 V 31.08 V 30.77 V 30.67 V 30.51 V

6.21 A 5.52 A 1.79 A 0.25 A 0.14 A

2:00 PM 33.5 31.32 V 31.05 V 30.84 V 30.72 V 30.58 V

6.38 A 5.79 A 1.91 A 0.31 A 0.18 A

3:00 PM 33 31.23 V 30.96 V 30.81 V 30.66 V 30.52 V

6.30 A 5.67 A 1.74 A 0.26 A 0.15 A

4:00 PM 32 31.17 V 30.92 V 30.76 V 30.59 V 30.45 V

6.11 A 5.38 A 1.52 A 0.17 A 0.13 A
 Temperature VS Current
7

5
Current (A)

0
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34

Temperature (◦C)

No Shade 1-Cell shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.5: TEMPERATURE VS CURRENT USING VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN RIGHTMOST COLUMN

Temperature VS Voltage
31.4

31.2

31
Voltage (V)

30.8

30.6

30.4

30.2
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)

No Shade 1-Cell shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.6: TEMPERATURE VS VOLTAGE USING VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN RIGHTMOST

COLUMN.
(3) VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN SIXTH COLUMN:

TABLE 6.4: CURRENTS AND VOLTAGES FOR VERTICAL PROFILE IN THE SIXTH COLUMN
TIME AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE CURRENTS AND VOLTAGES FOR VERTICAL PROFILE IN THE
(◦C) SIXTH COLUMN
NO SHADE 1-Cell 2-Cell 3-Cell 4-Cell

10:00 AM 29 30.97 V 30.79 V 30.56 V 30.42 V 30.26 V

5.32 A 5.19 A 1.33 A 0.13 A 0.06 A

11:00 AM 30.5 31.13 V 31.06 V 30.89 V 30.69 V 30.47 V

5.65 A 5.34 A 1.31 A 0.15 A 0.09 A

12:00 PM 31.5 31.19 V 30.98 V 30.75 V 30.61 V 30.44 V

5.94 A 5.56 A 1.49 A 0.19 A 0.11 A

1:00 PM 32.5 31.26 V 31.04 V 30.85 V 30.66 V 30.48 V

6.21 A 5.38 A 1.61 A 0.20 A 0.13 A

2:00 PM 33.5 31.32 V 31.10 V 30.88 V 30.72 V 30.52 V

6.38 A 5.44 A 1.67 A 0.27 A 0.18 A

3:00 PM 33 31.23 V 30.97 V 30.83 V 30.62 V 30.46 V

6.30 A 5.31 A 1.56 A 0.25 A 0.15 A

4:00 PM 32 31.17 V 30.93 V 30.71 V 30.57 V 30.39 V

6.11 A 5.24 A 1.39 A 0.13 A 0.14 A
 Temperature VS Current
7

5
Current (A)

0
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)

No Shade 1-Cell Shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.7: TEMPERATURE VS CURRENT USING VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN SIXTH COLUMN.

Temperature VS Voltage

31.4

31.2

31
Voltage (V)

30.8

30.6

30.4

30.2
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)
No Shade 1-Cell Shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.8: VOLTAGE VS TEMPERATURE FOR VERTICAL PROFILE IN SIXTH COLUMN

(4) VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN LEFTMOST COLUMN

TABLE 6.5: CURRENT AND VOLTAGE FOR VERTICAL PROFILE IN 1 ST ROW

TIME AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE CURRENTS AND VOLTAGES FOR VERTICAL PROFILE IN
(◦C) LEFTMOST COLUMN
NO
SHADE 1-Cell 2-Cell 3-Cell 4-Cell

10:00 AM 29 30.97 V 30.81 V 30.58 V 30.46 V 30.32 V

5.32 A 5.14 A 1.56 A 0.19 A 0.08 A

11:00 AM 30.5 31.13 V 30.95 V 30.84 V 30.64 V 30.47 V

5.65 A 5.33 A 1.61 A 0.21 A 0.10 A

12:00 PM 31.5 31.19 V 31.02 V 30.78 V 30.69 V 30.54 V

5.94 A 5.54 A 1.83 A 0.25 A 0.17 A

1:00 PM 32.5 31.26 V 31.13 V 30.91 V 30.72 V 30.58 V

6.21 A 5.69 A 2.08 A 0.30 A 0.19 A

2:00 PM 33.5 31.32 V 31.08 V 30.93 V 30.70 V 30.56 V

6.38 A 5.85 A 2.26 A 0.34 A 0.21 A

3:00 PM 33 31.23 V 31.04 V 30.86 V 30.67 V 30.49 V

6.30 A 5.73 A 2.30 A 0.24 A 0.17 A

4:00 PM 32 31.17 V 31.0 V 30.82 V 30.62 V 30.41 V

6.11 A 5.46 A 1.89 A 0.18 A 0.12 A
 Temperature VS Current
7

5
Current (A)

0
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)
No Shade 1-Cell Shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.9: TEMPERATURE VS CURRENT USING VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN LEFTTMOST

COLUMN

Temperature VS Voltage
31.4

31.2

31
Voltage (V)

30.8

30.6

30.4

30.2
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)
No Shade 1-Cell Shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.10: TEMPERATURE VS VOLTAGE USING VERTICAL SHADING PROFILE IN LEFTTMOST

COLUMN.
(5)HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN UPPERMOST ROW

TABLE 6.5: CURRENT AND VOLTAGE WITH DIFFERENT SHADED CELLS

TIME AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE CURRENTS AND VOLTAGES FOR DIFFERENT SHADING
(◦C) CONDITIONS
NO
SHADE 1-Cell 2-Cell 3-Cell 4-Cell

10:00 AM 29 30.97 V 30.75 V 30.58 V 30.43 V 30.27 V

5.32 A 5.11 A 1.22 A 0.12 A 0.05 A

11:00 AM 30.5 31.13 V 30.97 V 30.74 V 30.59 V 30.42 V

5.65 A 5.27 A 1.39 A 0.14 A 0.09 A

12:00 PM 31.5 31.19 V 30.94 V 30.80 V 30.63 V 30.48 V

5.94 A 5.45 A 1.59 A 0.19 A 0.08 A

1:00 PM 32.5 31.26 V 31.05 V 30.86 V 30.61 V 30.39 V

6.21 A 5.57 A 1.62 A 0.22 A 0.14 A

2:00 PM 33.5 31.32 V 31.14 V 30.96 V 30.74 V 30.51 V

6.38 A 5.68 A 1.74 A 0.24 A 0.17 A

3:00 PM 33 31.23 V 30.97 V 30.88 V 30.65 V 30.47 V

6.30 A 5.71 A 1.63 A 0.20 A 0.11 A

4:00 PM 32 31.17 V 30.93 V 30.73 V 30.58 V 30.40 V

6.11 A 5.40 A 1.44 A 0.15 A 0.10 A
 Temperature VS Current
7

5
Current (A)

0
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)

No Shade 1-Cell Shaded 2-Cell Shaded 3-Cell Shaded 4-Cell Shaded

FIGURE 6.11: TEMPERATURE VS CURRENT USING HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN

UPPERMOST ROW.

Temperature VS Voltage
31.4

31.2

31
Voltage (V)

No Shade
30.8 1-Cell Shaded
2-Cell Shaded
30.6
3-Cell Shaded

30.4 4-Cell Shaded

30.2
28.5 29 29.5 30 30.5 31 31.5 32 32.5 33 33.5 34
Temperature (◦C)

FIGURE 6.12: TEMPERATURE VS VOLTAGE USING HORIZONTAL SHADING PROFILE IN UPPERMOST

ROW.

It is clear that currents and voltages for all shading profiles follow same trends. For all
profiles, as soon as 2nd cell is shaded, currents drop to very low values and PV cell
cease to function pro
 CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSIONS

7.1 CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of above study and observations, we can conlude the following:

1)We see here that output currents of a PV cell diminishes abruptly as soon as 2-cell
shading is applied. It means that only a small portion of shadow on critical cells of a
module is sufficient to cease the outputs of the module. Also performance is null at 3-
cells shading and higher shading profiles.

2)Even in the presence of by-pass diodes, current and voltage drop across the shaded
cell is not compensated fully and this results in lower output variables of module and
it results in large fluctuations in these variables. However, the voltage drop is small.

3)On comparing the different shading profiles which are employed, we see that the
vertical shading profile corresponding to sixth column is one having lowest currents
and the vertical profile corresponding to leftmost column results highest currents than
any other profile having same amount of shaded cells.
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