SOLAR PANEL TEST SET

The report describes the Solar Panel Test Set developed for testing solar cell panels in artificial sunlight at an equivalent sunlight intensity of 140 mWsq.cm. The test set uses iodine-quartz tungsten lamps as the radiant- energy source, and the emerging radiation is uniformly reflected and totally diffused. An air conditioner, which is part of the test set, provides the cooling air necessary to control the temperature of the solar panel under test. The methods of calibrating the test set are described, and the accuracy of the measurements obtained when using artificial light as the radiation source is discussed.