2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

DEVELOPMENT OF MATLAB
SIMULINK MODEL FOR
PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYS
Jenifer .AI

Newlin Nishia.R

3
Rohini.G

Jamuna. V'

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Jerusalem College of Engineering, Centre for
collaborative research with Anna University, Velachery main road, Pallikkaranai, Chennai-600 100, India.
Email: jeniinbox@gmail.com, newlinnishia@yahoo.co.in

commercial photovoltaic devices. This paper focuses

on modeling photovoltaic modules or panels
composed of several basic cells. The term array, used
henceforth, means any photovoltaic device composed
of several basic cells[1]-[2]. Figure 1 shows the
development of a PV panel from a cell. PV module
represents the fundamental power conversion unit of
a PV generator system. The output characteristics of
a PV module depend on the solar insolation
(incoming solar radiation), the cell temperature, and
the output voltage of the PV module. The main
contribution of this paper is the development of a PV
model using MATLAB ISIMULINK. The developed
model is simulated and analyzed in conjunction with
power electronics for a maximum power point
tracker.

Abstract: This paper presents the mathematical

model

for

developed

photovoltaic

with

the

help

array.
of

It

has

been

Matlab/Simulink

software package. Since the PV module has non

linear characteristics, it is necessary to model it
for the design and simulation of maximum power
point

tracking

applications,

(MPPT)

for

PV

system

and to study the dynamic analysis

of converters. This model of photovoltaic array is

user-friendly. The developed model is simulated
and

analyzed

in

conjunction

with

power

electronics, for a maximum power point tracker.

The parameters of the photovoltaic array model
are

obtained from the information available in

the datasheet. The same is also explained in this

paper.

Keywords- photovoltaic array, equivalent model,

modeling , MATLAB ISIMULINK

I.INTRODUCTION
In recent years, renewable sources such as solar,
wave and wind are being used for the generation of
electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) generation is getting
increasingly important as a renewable source due to
the advantages such as the absence of fuel cost, little
maintenance and no noise and wear due to the
absence of moving parts. With the development of
solar cell technology, the price of solar modules has
dropped dramatically. A recent worldwide survey
shows that in the last three years, the retail price of
solar modules has dropped by 16.95%. Solar cells
can convert the energy of sunlight directly into
electricity. The basic device of a photovoltaic system
is the photovoltaic cell. Cells may be grouped to form
panels or modules. Panels can be grouped to form
large photovoltaic arrays. The term array is usually
employed to describe a photovoltaic panel (with
several cells connected in series andlor parallel) or a
group of panels. Most of the time one are interested
in modeling photovoltaic panels, which are

978-1-4673-0210-4112/$31.00 2012 IEEE

Figure 1 Photovoltaic cells, modules, panels, and array

II.PHOTOVOLTAlC MODELS
A solar cell or photovoltaic (PV) cell is a device that
converts solar energy into electricity by the
photovoltaic effect. A majority of the solar cells
produced, are composed of Silicon (Si) which exists
in sufficient quantities, and does not harm the
environment.

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2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

The doping technique is used to obtain a surplus of

positive charge carriers (p-type) or negative carriers
(n-type). When two layers of different doping are in
contact, then a p-n junction is formed on the
boundary. An internal electric field is built up, which
then causes the separation of the charge carriers
released by light. Light is composed of small packets
called photons. When these photons bombard, many
electrons are freed within the electric field proximity,
which then pulls the electrons from the p-side to n
side. Through metal contacts, an electric charge can
be taped. If the outer circuit is closed, then direct
current flows as illustrated in Figure 2.

constant [1.3806503
10 - 23J/K], T is the
temperature of the p-n junction, and 'a' is the diode
ideality constant. Figure 3 shows the equivalent
circuit of ideal PV cell.
ideal PV cell

L-----+P d ---7-1

---------- ---- - -- ------

I,.
,,

,
,

1-________________________

Figure 3 Ideal PV equivalent circuit

B. Modeling the photovoltaic array

The same technique is extended for developing the
mathematical model of a PV module. Practical arrays
are composed of several connected PV cells, and the
observation of the characteristics at the terminals of
the PV array, requires the inclusion of additional
parameters (as shown in figure 4) to the basic
equation:
Figure 2 Operation of a PV cell

Each of these cells produces around 0.5V (for

Silicon). The voltage across a solar cell is primarily
dependent on the design and materials of the cell,
while the electrical current depends primarily on the
incident solar irradiance and the cell area.

Where 11;,
NskT<lq is the thermal voltage of the
array with Ns cells connected in series. Cells
connected in parallel increase the current and cells
connected in series provide greater output voltages.
V, I are the terminal voltage and current.
=

A.Ideal photovoltaic cell

practical PV device

,------------------------------------------------------,
,
I
ideal PV cell
,
:-------------------------1
,
-+
,
'
I
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
I
,
,
L _________________________
I
,
'---------------------------------------------------------

The use of equivalent electric circuits makes it

possible to model the characteristics of a PV cell. The
mathematical model for a photovoltaic cell can be
developed, using the MATLAB package. The basic
equation from the theory of semiconductors that
mathematically describes the I-V characteristic of the
ideal photovoltaic cell is

i Ipv

If

Figure 4 Equivalent circuit of a practical photovoltaic

device including the series and parallel resistances

(1)
Where, Id=lo.cell[exp(qV/akt)-l]
1=lpv,cell- 10.cell[exp(qV/akt)-1]

For a good solar cell, the series resistance, R" should

be very small and the shunt (parallel) resistance, Rp,
should be very large. For commercial solar cells, Rp
is much greater than the forward resistance of a
diode. The I-V curve is shown in Figure 5. The curve
has three important points namely, open circuit
voltage (Voc), short circuit current (lsc) and maximum
power point. In this model single diode is considered.
The J- V characteristic of the photovoltaic device
shown in Figure 5 depends on the internal

(2)
(3)

Where, Ipv.cell is the current generated by the incident

light(it is directly proportional to the sun irradiation),
Id is the diode equation, 10,cell is the reverse saturation
or leakage current of the diode , q is the electron
charge [1. 60217646 10 - 19C], k is the Boltzmann

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2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

characteristics of the device and on external

influences such as the irradiation level and
temperature.
I

The diode saturation current can be determined by

(7)
VI,n being the thermal voltage of Ns series-connected
cells at the nominal temperature
Tn. The value of the diode constant 'a' may be
arbitrarily chosen. Usually 1 :S a :S 1.5 and the choice
depends on other parameters of the I-V model. The
values of Rp and Rs are selected such that Rs is
chosen iteratively by starting from zero, and Rp by

(rnA)

V (Volt)

Isc

Illumination

III. SIMULATION OF THE PHOTOVOLTAIC

ARRAY

Figure 5 I-V characteristics of a PV cell

The
simulations
are
carried
out
using
MATALB/SIMULINK package. The developed
mathematical model of the PV array is used for the
simulation studies. Various parameters of the PV
array are determined and chosen. For the simulation
work, we consider the solar panel model ND-1240Q2.
The specifications of the panel ND-1240Q2 are given
in Table1.

This model offers simplicity and accuracy, with

the basic structure composed of a current source and
a parallel diode. The simplicity of the single-diode
model, with its flexibility of adjusting the parameters
and scope for improving makes this model perfect
for the simulation of photovoltaic devices with power
converters.
Manufacturers's data sheets, provide data like the
nominal open-circuit voltage c'n' the nominal short
circuit current ISC'n, the voltage at the maximum
power point V;np, the current at the maximum power
point Imp, the open-circuit voltage/temperature
coefficient Kv , the short-circuit current/temperature
coefficient KJ , and the maximum experimental peak
output power nax[> Details like the light-generated
current, the series and shunt resistances, the diode
ideality constant, the diode reverse saturation current,
and the bandgap energy of the semiconductor with
reference to the nominal or standard test conditions
(STC) of temperature and solar irradiation will not be
provided by the manufacturer in the datasheets.

Table I Specifications of solar panel ND-1240Q2

The light generated current will be equal to Isc but in

this model it is determined by

Open circuit voltage Voe

37.5V

Short circuit current Ise

8.61A

Maximwn output power

240W

Voltage at maximum power

30.2V

Current at maximum power

7.95A

(5)
Where Ipv.n is the light-generated current at
C
nominal
condition
(usually
25
1000W/m\ LlT=T-Tn (being T and Tn the actual
nominal temperatures [K]), G [W/m2] is
irradiation on the device surface, and Gn is
nominal irradiation.
The value of Ipv is chosen from

the
and
and
the
the

A. Selection of Rs and Rp
Rs is iteratively chosen by incrementing the values
from O. Rp is chosen based on equation 8.Decreasing
Rp too much will lead Voe to drop, and increasing Rs
too much will lead Ise to drop.
B. Calculation of Io

(6)

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2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

10 depends strongly on the temperature hence, the

simulation circuit of 10 includes Kv and Ki which are
the voltage and current coefficients
10=(lsc,n+klT)/exp[(Voc,n+KiT)/aVtl-l

(9)

Based on equation 9 10 is calculated.

C. Calculation of Ipv
The light generated by the incident light is simulated
according to equation 5 where in Ipv,n is calculated
from equation 7.
D. Equivalent model
The light generated by the PV is modeled as an
equivalent current source. The series and parallel
resistances are connected and simulated. The various
equations describing the PV array characteristics are
modeled using suitable mathematical blocks from the
simulink library. The simulink model is shown in
Figure 6.This simulation is done for the standard test
condition (STC) i.e. temperature is 25C and
Irradiation is 1000 W/m2

Figure 6 Photovoltaic circuit model built with

MATLAB/SIMULINK

The PV array is modeled separately and put in a

MATLAB subsystem, which contains all the
equations required for modeling a PV array. This
subsystem is integrated with the PV array which
replaces the constant DC voltage source of the
chopper. Figure 7 shows the integrated PV array with
the boost converter.

1Tr '
,. . .'
gl
Inputs:

B-------+G
Tempasture

[I<)

Figure 7 Integrated PV array - boost converter circuit

IV.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The I-V and P-V characteristic curves of the
simulated model for 800 W/m2 and 25C are shown
in Figure 8a and 8b. The simulated I-V, P-V curves at
different insolation levels are shown in Figures 8, 9
and lO.The graph in Figure 8 represents the behavior
of a solar cell at particular intensities of solar
radiation. The point at which a curve intersects the

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2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

Current - Voltage Curve

vertical axis is known as the short circuit condition. It

defmes how the cell operates if a wire is connected
between its terminals, shorting it out. The current
flow here is known as Isc. Because there is no voltage,
the cell delivers no power.

'\

...... \
\\
,,\
\
\

40 n----.--..---
35

30

-:l000w/sqJn
-sj:800w/5Q.m
-5l:600w/sq.m

25
20

15

15

20

25

35

Modu!t:Voltagt

10

Figure 9 P-Y curves at different insolation levels

20

10

40

30

For every point on the graph, the voltage and current

can be mUltiplied to calculate the power. If this
power output curve is plotted on the original graph
for full sunlight, the power-voltage curves can be
obtained as shown in FigurelO.

voltage

Figure 8(a)
300

Power - Voltage Curve

250
;....
v

200

0
p.

150

::::

300 ,-----

100

50
0

150

1------

100

I------r---+-

150

r------/---,''--+l-

100

1-------/--r--oI''''--\-tt--

50

r-r7L-

i
0

10

20

30

40

voltage

50

Figure 8(b)
Figure 8(a) P-Y curve 8(b) I-Y curve

-sj:1000w/;,q.m
-sj:800w/sq.m
-sj:600w/sq.m

----r_--

10

15

25

35

45

ModuleVoltagt

The point at which a curve intersects the horizontal

axis, is where the cell operates if it is unconnected.
This is known as the open circuit condition, and the
voltage produced is denoted as Yoc. Because the
current is zero, no power is delivered.

Figure 10 P-Y curves at different insolation levels

The power is maximum at a single operating point.

This is known as the "Maximum Power Point", or
MPP. If one is to get the most out of the solar cells, it
is essential to operate around the MPP. The quality of
a PV cell is often rated with a characteristic, called its
"Fill Factor". This is defmed as the maximum power
produced (at MPP), divided by the product of Isc and
Voc' The fill factor will always be less than 1. The
boost converter output voltage at the STC is shown in
Figure 11.

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2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

p.
88-93, 2004.
[8] D. Sera, R. Teodorescu, and P. Rodriguez. PV
panel model based on datasheet values. In Proc.

National Power and Energy Conference, PECon,

IEEE

International

Symposium

on

Industrial

p.2392-2396, 2007.
[9]A. Kajihara and A. T. Harakawa. Model of
photovoltaic cell circuits under partial shading. In
Electronics, ISlE,

Proc. IEEE International Conference on Industrial

p. 866-870, 2005.
[10] N. D. Benavides and P. L. Chapman. Modeling
the effect of voltage ripple on the power output of
photovoltaic modules. IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Electronics, 55(7):2638-2643, 2008.
[11] W. De Soto, S. A. Klein, and W. A. Beckman.
Improvement and validation of a model for
photovoltaic array performance. Solar Energy,
80(1):78-88, January 2006.
[12]France Lasnier and Tony Gan Ang. Photovoltaic
engineering handbook. Adam Hilger, 1990.
[13] K. Khouzam, C. Khoon Ly, C.and Koh, and Poo
Yong Ng. Simulation and real-time modelling of
space photovoltaic systems. In IEEE 1st World
Technology, ICIT,

Figure 11 Boost converter output voltage at STC

V.CONCLUSION
This paper has dealt with the development of a
mathematical model for photovoltaic arrays, using
the MATLAB package. The objective of the method
is to fit the mathematical J- V equation to the
experimental remarkable points of the J- V curve of
the practical array. This method is simple, and the
same model can be developed for Ns x Np number of
cells. The developed model can be used for power
electronic applications.

Conference

Intersociety

IEEE

35th

Annual

Power

Energy

Conference, IECEC,

[1] Muhammad H. Rashid, "Power Electronics

And
Devices,
Circuits,
Handbook
Applications ,Second Edition.
[2] G. N. Tiwari and Swapnil Dubey, "Fundamentals
of Photovoltaic Modules and Their Applications"
RSC Energy Series No. 2.
[3]J.A. Gow and C.D.Manning "Development of a
model for photovoltaic arrays suitable for use in
simulation studies of solar energy conversion
systems'Power Electronics and Variable Speed
Drives,
Conference
Publication
No.
429.
[4]www.sharpusa.com/solar
[5] H. Patel and V. Agarwal. MATLAB-based
modeling to study the effects of partial shading on
PV array characteristics.lEEE Transactions on
Energy Conversion, 23(1):302-310, 2008.
[6] Weidong Xiao, W. G. Dunford, and A. Capel. A
novel modeling method for photovoltaic cells. In
Specialists Conference, PESC,

Energy

Conversion,

Specialists Conference, v. 2, p. 2038-2041, 1994.

[14] M. C. Glass. Improved solar array power point
model with SPICE realization. In Proc. 31st

VI.REFERENCES

Proc.

on Photovoltaic

Conference Record of the 24th IEEE Photovoltaic

Conversion

Engineering

v. 1, p. 286-291, August 1996

Jenifer.A

is currently pursuing
her M.E(power electronics and
drives) in Jerusalem college of
engineering, Anna university,
Chennai. She has completed her
B.E in Electrical and Electronics
engineering in the year 2010 in
Tagore Engineering college,
Anna university Chennai.
Nishia.R is currently
pursuing
her
M.E(power
electronics
and
drives)
in
Jerusalem college of engineering,
Anna university, Chennai. She has
B.E
in
her
completed
Electronics
Electricaland
engineering in the year 2010 in Tagore Engineering
college, Anna
university , Chennai.
Newlin

Electronics

v. 3, p. 1950-1956,

2004.
[7] Y. Yusof, S. H. Sayuti, M. Abdul Latif, and M. Z.
C.Wanik. Modeling and simulation of maximum
power point tracker for photovoltaic system. In Proc.

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2012 International Conference on Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies [ICCEET]

G.Rohini is Assistant Professor

in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering
Department, Jerusalem College
of Engineering, Chennai, India.
She received her B.E. degree in
Electronics
Electrical
&
Engineering from IRTT Erode.
M.E. degree in Power Electronics and Drives from
CEG Anna University, Chennai, and currently
pursuing her ph.D. She has more than 10 years of
teaching experience.

Associate
is
V.Jamuna
Professor in Electrical and
Engineering
Electronics
Department,
Jerusalem
College
of
Engineering,
Chennai, India. She received
her B.E. degree in Electrical &
Electronics Engineering from
Engineering
St.Peter's
College, Madras University, Chennai, India in 1999,
M.E. degree in Power Electronics and Drives from
Anna University, Chennai, India in 2005, Ph.D from
Anna university in 2010. She has secured fifth
university rank in her P.G degree. She has 12 years of
teaching experience. She has published over 15
technical papers in national and international
conferences proceedings / journals. She is life
member of Indian Society for Technical Education.
She is a member of Institution of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers. Her research interests include
Induction Motor Drives and Neural Network
controller for drives.

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