Design of a Portable Low-Cost I-V Curve Tracer for On-Line and In Situ Inspection of PV Modules.

Identifying underperforming photovoltaic (PV) modules is crucial to ensure optimal energy production and financial returns, as well as preventing potential safety hazards in case of severe damage. To this aim, current-voltage (I-V) curve tracing can be employed as in situ monitoring technique for the early detection of faults. In this paper, we introduce a novel low-cost, microcontroller-based I-V tracer for the diagnosis of individual PV modules.