The facility consists of different areas reflecting the objectives of the laboratory.
There is an area where the module are fixed to determine and compare the PV performances, an area where the modules can be moved to determine the PV performances as function of incidence angle and/or shading, one area for hybrid PV and thermal panels, one area for solar cooling system, and one area for the wind turbine. Currently there are more than 20 PV and PV-T modules installed. Each one connected to a single inverter. Furthermore the facility has different instruments.
Meteorological station which provides information about ambient temperature, wind speed, solar radiation divided in direct normal radiation, total radiation on a flat surface and diffuse radiation. Secondary standard pyranometer are installed for an accurate measurement of solar radiation.
Instantaneous measurement of the power and energy generated from the overall installation.
Each PV and PV-T module is equipped with a micro-inverter that allows you to record and optimize the operating conditions of the single module.
Instrumentation developed specifically for tracking I-V and P-V characteristics of PV modules of each kind of modules.
IR camera, thermocouples, PT100, PT1000 for measuring the surface temperature of the modules. These systems are calibrated time by time in the laboratories of the Politecnico di Milano.
Experimental circuit for the measurement of thermal solar panels. The circuit involves the measurement of temperature, pressure and flow rate of the heat transfer fluid dedicated to the recovery of heat.
Measurement of PV modules’ I-V and P-V characteristics under actual environmental conditions. Different PV technologies have been evaluated and their characteristics referred to the same radiation of 1 kW/m².
The electrical measurements were performed using prototype and market-available measuring equipments. Its operating principle is illustrated through the block diagram shown in figure.
Comparison among different technologies are performed. I-V curves, OV-, SCC-, MPP-values of OPV, CIGS and Si-c are measured and compared at different irradiance-temperature conditions
