Experimental Studies on Standard and Modified PV Module

A standard Solar PV Module has open circuit voltage of around 21.6 Volts and around 17.3 Volts which is much higher than the required charging level of around 14.2 Volts for a 12 Volts battery. Often a charge controller is used for charging a battery using Solar PV Modules. The charge controller protects the battery from all possible damages. In the present work, Solar PV Module is modified and manufactured for of 17.3 Volts and 14.3 Volts, thereby eliminating the need of a charge controller. The panel operating voltage does not cross the upper limit of 14.3 Volts and thus does not damage the battery. Also the power gained from the modified PV module is higher than the standard PV module of the same power rating. This paper describes the results of the experimentation carried out to study and compare the performance characteristics of standard and modified Solar PV Modules in terms of I-V and P-V characteristics. A new term "module utilization factor" - defined as the ratio "useful power to the total power" produced by the panel, is suggested. It is a measure of effective power rating of the solar PV module when used in a 12 V battery system with charge controller.