Estimation of photovoltaic module shading

The methodology of computer simulation of volt-ampere and volt-watt characteristics of solar modules at several panel elements shading is considered in the paper. The model developed in program complex Matlab/Simulink provides estimating of decrease of the useful power generated by a solar module at shading an element or a group of elements in a module. The graphs of power decrease in a module against lighting magnitude and partial shading were constructed by the results of simulation. The graph shows an almost linear dependency in power output against luminosity, thus, power reduction is mainly caused by decrease in amperage generation. The repositioning of maximum power point in the graph was also examined; the graphs of repositioning against illumination that have no linear dependency were constructed.