A Review of the Main Methods to trace the I-V Characteristic Curve of PV Sources

This paper presents the main methods that are used to obtain the characteristic curves of photovoltaic sources. Given the importance of the I-V curve, the general characteristics of an equipment used for these goal are described. A review of the studies and developments is presented, grouped according to the type of variable load used. Finally, it is shown a comparative analysis among the presented methods. The objective is to highlight the advantages and limitations for the most used variable loads under different situations.