Browsing by Author "Gallardo Saavedra, Sara"

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A review of I–V tracers for photovoltaic modules: topologies and challenges
(2021) Morales Aragonés, José Ignacio; Davila Sacoto, Miguel Alberto; Gonzalez Morales, Luis Gerardo; Alonso Gómez, Víctor; Gallardo Saavedra, Sara; Hernandez Callejo, Luis
ltage (I–V) curve tracers are used for measuring voltage and current in pho-tovoltaic (PV) modules. I–V curves allow identifying certain faults in the photovoltaic module, as well as quantifying the power performance of the device. I–V curve tracers are present in different topologies and configurations, by means of rheostats, capacitive loads, electronic loads, transistors, or by means of DC–DC converters. This article focuses on presenting all these configurations. The paper shows the electrical parameters to which the electronic elements of the equipment are exposed using LTSpice, facilitating the appropriate topology selection. Additionally, a comparison has been included between the different I–V tracers’ topologies, analyzing their advantages and disadvantages, considering different factors such as their flexibility, modularity, cost, precision, speed or rating, as well as the characteristics of the different DC–DC converters.
Detecting hot spots in photovoltaic panels using low-cost thermal cameras
(Springer, 2020) Davila Sacoto, Miguel Alberto; Hernández Callejo, Luís; Alonso Gómez, Víctor; Gallardo Saavedra, Sara; Gonzalez Morales, Luis Gerardo
One of the most important challenges to mitigate global climate change is to move towards replacing petroleum-based energy sources. In this idea, non-conventional renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic (PV) solar and wind power are the most used worldwide. In the case of the massification of PV solar generation systems due to its low cost, it has resulted in the use of large-scale supervision techniques that allow a quick and effective determination of the health status of its main components. This study, performs an analysis of the performance of different low-cost cameras for thermography. The analysis compares the accuracy of the thermal images obtained and the error is quantified by means of an image dispersion analysis in each of them. Three-dimensional meshes and contours figures are also made to determine the temperature of a faulty cell. The study shows that the performance obtained with low-cost cameras presents errors below 10% in costs and less than 0.015 USD/pixel. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.
Low cost infrared thermography in aid of photovoltaic panels degradation research
(2021) Davila Sacoto, Miguel Alberto; Jurado Melguizo, Francisco; Alonso Gómez, Víctor; Gallardo Saavedra, Sara; Gonzalez Morales, Luis Gerardo
The analysis of PV solar panels deterioration allows researchers to know the health status of a panel in order to determine the overall functioning of a PV solar farm. A part of this analysis is performed by thermography, generally using professional and expensive equipment. This article presents a validation for the use of low-cost thermal imaging cameras, reviewing the relative error that can be obtained through scattering, contour analysis and three-dimensional meshes. The procedure is validated by analysis of I-V/P-V curves and a temperature sensor matrix, reaching errors less than 10% with cameras with less than 500USD.