Analysis of the Faults Impact on Current and Voltage Characteristics of Photovoltaic Solar Systems

Solar energy is recognised as one of the most sustainable and cleanest methods to generate electricity. Using semiconductors, solar energy provides a cleaner and unlimited power source, completely free from emissions or combustion. However, various defects can affect this system, including partial shading, temperature variation, irradiation variation, short circuits, open circuits or Line-to-line faults. These challenges can all decrease the efficiency and performance of a solar energy system and lead to poor reliability, further reducing the system's overall performance. To better understand how various faults can impact the performance of a solar energy system, a study was conducted to investigate the impact of different faults on photovoltaic (PV) characteristics. The study focused on analysing the effects of PV strings under various stresses. A single-diode equivalent model was chosen to implement the photovoltaic module in order to analyse the effects of various faults on P-V and I-V characteristic curves. This study utilised MATLAB simulations to determine the Maximum Power Point (MPP) based on P-V and I-V characteristics. The results showed that temperature variations led to a power loss of 21.91%, while short circuits and open circuit caused power losses of 31.67% and 29.67%, respectively. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing solar energy systems in challenging conditions.