Abstract
STC power control of PV modules supply requires testing large samples of
modules with low uncertainty. This paper analyses the feasibility of
outdoor measurements with the modules kept at their operating positions.
The classical procedure of recording I-V curves and translating
them to STC in accordance with IEC 60891 using the cell temperature
directly observed at a few points of the rear of the module entails
uncertainties larger than 3% (k=2), which is too much for this
procedure being accepted in quality controls with contractual
consequences. A convenient procedure for overcoming this barrier
consists in comparing the I-V curves of a tested and a reference module
of the same type, both working under the same operating conditions. The
latter is mostly secured if they are in adjacent positions. However,
when the procedure is applied to large samples of PV modules kept in
their operating position, the distance between both modules can reach
tens of meters and significant inter-module temperature differences can
arise. An artifice for counterbalancing these differences consists of
estimating the temperature of the tested module and the “true”
temperature of the reference module, as deduced from the V OC
measurement, by the temperature difference observed at their respective
back-sheets in a central position. This allows the measured power values
to be corrected and provides clues to estimating the uncertainty of the
results. This procedure has been applied in seven testing campaigns,
carried out at commercial PV plants. Dedicated instrumentation, based on
two radio linked I-V tracers, allowing the simultaneous
measurement of the I-V curves and of the temperature at the
centres of the reference and the tested modules, has been developed for
that. The resulting uncertainties are slightly larger than those
corresponding to high-quality solar simulators, but still low enough for
dealing, in practice, with strict quality control requirements.