Software tool for the extrapolation to Standard Test Conditions (STC) from experimental curves of photovoltaic modules

Abstract

A key aspect for the teaching of the photovoltaic technology is that the student perform experimental practices ofmeasure the characteristic Current-Voltage (I-V) under natural sunlight of a photovoltaic cell, module or generator and, later, being able to extrapolate the extracted results into Standard Test Conditions (STC). This paper presents a software tool (gotoSTC) to facilitate the acquisition of this knowledge and support the learning process of our students. gotoSTC allows processing experimental data from I-V curvesand applies some of the accepted methods by the scientific community. The program has two functional options: on the first one, the characteristic parameters of one curve will be obtained from its I-V curve and STC extrapolation methods are applied to it; in the second option, a set of I-V curves of the same module are necessary to obtain the characteristic parameters and then applies the extrapolation methods. Graphical representations of the data are showed in order to present some of the existing relations between the parameters characterizing the device behavior.