Electrical experimental data collection of polycrystalline and monocrystalline photovoltaic modules in an indoor environment using artificial sun simulator

In the twenty-first century, energy sustainability and reliability are one of the major challenges in the world and prime factors of the national development plan. Recently, Solar PV is gaining popularity and making a significant effect as an alternative to fossil fuels due to reduction of cost and enhanced efficiency. However, the production performance of Solar PV over the period gets significantly impacted owing to a variety of problems such as dust, aging due to shading and soiling over the cell, hot spot, discoloration and corrosion for excessive atmospheric temperature, inadequate solar light, cell damage, and so on. In this research, a low-cost halogen-based artificial sun simulator is developed and deployed to examine the electrical properties of Solar PV in indoor conditions. Two monocrystalline and three polycrystalline PV panels under Standard Test Conditions, as well as a prototype 5 × 8 PV array, using this artificial light source, were evaluated rigorously for experimental purposes. With the help of a microcontroller-based I-V tracer and an actual data storage system, Open Circuit Voltage (Voc), Short Circuit Current (Isc), Maximum Power Voltage (Vmp), Maximum Power Current (Imp), and Maximum Power (Pmax) at three irradiance levels were measured and recorded. Utilizing Microsoft Excel software, the data logger's recorded data were analyzed and I-V and P-V curves were plotted. These data are extremely valuable for obtaining a good understanding of the validity of the Sun Simulator and the rate of deterioration of solar PV performance depending on irradiance. These data will aid the research community in future research regarding PV array performance monitoring, corresponding solution modeling, and developing cost-effective installation of large-scale PV arrays.