Equivalent cell temperature calculation for PV modules with variable ideality factors

Outdoor testing of PV modules involves monitoring their operating temperatures which have strong influence on the output power. Back-of-module sensing is associated with significant uncertainty due to temperature drop across the back encapsulation and also due to non-uniform temperature over the module's area. The international standard IEC 60904-5 defines a procedure for calculating the Equivalent Cell Temperature (ECT) of PV devices from their open-circuit voltage. This and other standards (as well as some module performance models) assume a single-exponential I-V curve model with a constant ideality factor. However, this parameter may vary with the illumination level and the operating temperature. If this variation is significant, the standard ECT calculation procedure may introduce unacceptable errors. A new equation is derived for the case when both dependencies are linear.