Modeling spatial electrical properties in photovoltaic modules using PV-oriented nodal analysis

Inhomogeneities in photovoltaic (PV) devices can cause spatially nonuniform performances and hence electrical mismatches which will reduce the overall power generation. A hierarchical distributed electrical network modeling technique is developed to investigate localized electrical properties and their impacts on the change of power generation of PV modules. A PV-oriented nodal analysis method is developed to enable the spatially-resolved quantitative analysis of electrical operating points by given localized properties. The simulation results show that the spatial electrical operating points and the overall electrical power output of the module can be calculated from distributed parameters. The possibility of combining this modeling approach with physical characterization techniques is discussed. This approach allows reconstructing PV modules utilizing material related parameters and acceleration over conventional methods, which may enable it to be a manufacturing relevant simulation tool.