Dark I–V curve measurement of single cells in a photovoltaic module

A simple method of obtaining single cell dark I–V curves in a photovoltaic module was developed. The method does not require disassembling the module and was verified experimentally. From the dark I–V curves, the cell characteristic parameters were obtained. By following the time evolution of the characteristic parameters it is possible to determine the main degradation mechanisms and predict the mean life time of the module before failure. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.