A solar cell/panel testing device which places a variable load on a panel to characterize its IV/PV curve
An Arduino controls a MOSFET, acting as a resistor load, to allow varying current through the MOSFET from the solar panels. Two measures are used to monitor current - an INA219 current sensor, and a shunt resistor with an op-amp network. An ADC measures the total cell/panel voltage.
The Arduino logs the voltage/current values over UART to a computer.
- R_shunt = Full Scale Voltage / Max Expected Load Current = 40mV / 0.5A = 80mOhms, so 0.1 ohms is reasonable
The software is licensed under The Unlicense. The hardware is licensed under the CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2 - Permissive.
Please see the respective license documents in each sub-folder.
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Main Reference: https://circuitdigest.com/microcontroller-projects/adustable-electronic-dc-load-using-arduino
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https://jasper.sikken.nl/electronicload/index.html
- Uses an IRLZ44Z MOSFET
- Archived on the Wayback Machine
- Detect cracks in cells: Add a MOSFET to briefly pulse a voltage across the cells and trigger an infrared camera to take a photo.