This thesis seeks to develop a compact, low-cost, and reliable solution to characterize
the I-V relationship of multiple photovoltaic panels. For this purpose, a custom
relay circuit board is developed, which houses 12 DC-DC solid-state relays, control,
and interfacing circuitry. With the addition of basic peripheral components
including a computer, a microcontroller, two multimeters, and an electronic load,
three photovoltaic panels can be characterized in a single sweep. It is shown that
the limiting factors on the panel size depend on the allowable specifcations for
either the relays or the electronic load, whichever is minimum.
In the final experiment, three thin-film photovoltaic panels are characterized
adopting novel PV emulation techniques.
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