An experimental investigation of the real time electrical characteristics of a PV panel for different atmospheric conditions in Islamic University of Technology (OIC), Gazipur, Bangladesh

The electrical characteristics of a 60W, 12V PV panel is presented on this paper for geographical location of Latitude = 23° 43′N and Longitude = 90°25′E (Islamic University of Technology, Gazipur, Dhaka, Bangladesh). The open circuit voltage and short circuit current of the panel are measured and recorded at an interval of three minutes along with the total solar irradiation. The total solar irradiation is measured using the device “UNIKLIMA VARIO” commissioned in the automatic weather monitoring station of the university. Based on the weekly data voltage-times and current-time curves are plotted for three different seasons from which the total available electrical power curve is also derived. Then the electrical efficiency of the panel is calculated using the solar irradiation data. The objective is to observe the variation of efficiency for different weather and atmospheric condition. The voltage generated by a PV panel depends on the geographical location of the site, time of the year, time of the day and local weather condition. The geographical and climatic condition of the chosen site is suitable for PV power systems. The electrical design of the array is influenced by the factors such as- sun intensity, sun angle, load matching for maximum power and operating temperature of the panel. Based on the experiments it has been observed that with increased radiation, the panel current is increased linearly. With a constant irradiation, the output voltage of the panel is increased for a decrease in the panel temperature or vice-versa. Finally the efficiency curve for the three different seasons is plotted and according to the observed data a comparison is carried on based on different factors affecting the efficiency of the panel. The total energy output in kWh is also calculated using the power curve of the panel for three different seasonal variations.