Identification of the Internal Resistance in Solar Modules Under Dark Conditions Using Differential Evolution Algorithm

One of the main concern of the maintenance operation in solar plants is the early identification of faults in solar panels. Several faults in solar panels reflects on the variation of its internal resistance. This work presents and validates a differential evolution algorithm that is capable of identifying the changes on the internal resistance of photo-voltaic (PV) modules under dark conditions. Such algorithm enables the automated test of PV modules during the night, when the identification operations do not affect the PV installation energy generation.