Measuring the Characteristics of Solar Panels

Höcherl & Hackl introduces a new option for the ZS series electronic loads. The ZS13 option is a fast and accurate data acquisition unit for tracking the voltage and current during the different changing test conditions.
When a Zero Volt Option is used then the curves can be  traced down to a few mV.
These features in combination with the programmable waveform function make it possible to measure the V-I characteristics of a solar panel. By combining these curves it is easy to determine the maximum power point for the solar panel. 

The ZS Electronic loads can perform simultaneous measurement  of voltage and current. Voltage and current are stored at exactly the same time. The power spectrum reaches from 500W to 25200W at four voltage classes: 60V, 120V, 300V and 600V. The currents reach 30mA at the smaller equipment and 2700A at the most powerful types. The unusual feature of these loads is the overloadability up to nearly triple nominal power. Through this a device can be often calculated for a considerably lower nominal power and thus essential more economically for applications with high short-time power.

The power spectrum of the ZS series loads reaches from 500W to 25200W at four voltage classes: 60V, 120V, 300V and 600V. The currents reach 30mA at the smaller equipment and 2700A at the most powerful types.
This will cover the majority of the solar panels at this moment.

Function: The Electronic Load is operated in constant voltage mode and starts a decreasing ramp beginning at a higher voltage as the unloaded voltage of the panel going to 0V. Doing so, the measuring data for voltage and current are recorded and stored. Thereafter the data are read out and plot in an X-Y diagram (e.g. in Excel).  
Programming: The Electronic Load is programmed in SCPI Syntax. The speed of the ramp and the measuring rate is programmable in a wide range.  
Example: Measurement of the characteristic of a 20V solar panel with an Electronic Load ZS506-4. The ramp starts at 30V and goes to 0V within 50ms. The measuring interval is set to 200µs.