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I am still getting used to PVLIB and figuring out how to use the methods associated with it. I'd like to be able to model the growth of localised hotspots in a PV module due to current mismatch that results from partial shading.

I'd be surprised if I was the first person to do this, so I'm wondering what other solutions exist to do this in a straightforward way from PVLIB.

Abed
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You can use the single-diode model functions from pvlib to build up the electrical simulation for this scenario, and thereby determine how much electrical power the affected cell absorbs.

There isn't a thermal model in pvlib to tell you how hot it would get, but as a first approximation you could adapt one of the existing module/cell temperature functions quite easily. There is a local variable called heat_input to which you can add the electrical power.

adr
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  • Okay, I really appreciate that suggestion; it's kind of what I was expecting. My only problem is that the exact nature of the hotspot depends on the architecture also of the module/panel: so if I have a panel of 5 modules with 12 cells each it differs from one of 6 modules with 10 cells each. That impacts where the hotspot occurs and how much power it dissipates, and I was hoping to find a way to use pvlib to bridge that easily. – Abed Sep 26 '20 at 17:25
  • It depends a bit on the type of study you are doing, whether you want to hand-code two or three variations, or come up with a more general approach. Try it with just 10 cells in series and go from there. – adr Sep 27 '20 at 13:33
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Use PVMismatch. It doesn't do self heating, but it will calculate mismatch for arbitrary cell patterns and string layouts with arbitrary irradiance, temperature and cell properties. Once calculated you can iterate temperature to find equilibrium

Mark Mikofski
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