Performance of single-large simulated sunlight for indoor photovoltaic testing

Recently, there is enormous attention in developing indoor testing-based photovoltaic (PV) modules using simulated sunlight. In this study, the performance of simulated sunlight using a large tungsten halogen lamp was evaluated. The electrical characteristics and non-uniformity performance in the various lamp tilt angles and distances to the irradiated PV were determined and considered according to the standard of solar simulator performance requirements BS EN 60904-9. Results indicated that the present simulated sunlight reached a stable operation after around 10 minutes according to the current response. Meanwhile, the obtained wavelength range of present simulated sunlight indicated quite similar to the visible light. In term of spatial non-uniformity, the present simulated sunlight failed to meet the classification of a typical solar simulator according to BS EN 60904-9 with the non-uniformity level resulted in a higher percentage as the distance of the lamp to the irradiated PV decreased. The dispersion of unevenness value indicated that the configuration of simulated sunlight at 20° could be a reasonable option for performing the test at 0.3 m distance and 90° for distance over 0.3 m.