Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation

Popa, Ciprian; Deliu, Florențiu; Popa, Adrian; Volintiru, Narcis Octavian; Deliu, Andrei Darius; Ciocioi, Iancu; Popov, Petrică

doi:10.3390/en19061437

Open AccessArticle

Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation

by

Ciprian Popa

¹

,

Florențiu Deliu

^1,*

,

Adrian Popa

¹

,

Narcis Octavian Volintiru

¹

,

Andrei Darius Deliu

²,

Iancu Ciocioi

¹

and

Petrică Popov

¹

Faculty of Marine Engineering, Romanian Naval Academy “Mircea cel Bătrân” Constanța, 900218 Constanța, Romania

²

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Energies 2026, 19(6), 1437; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19061437

Submission received: 12 February 2026 / Revised: 3 March 2026 / Accepted: 9 March 2026 / Published: 12 March 2026

(This article belongs to the Section A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

Accurate time-domain photovoltaic (PV) models are needed to evaluate performance under outdoor variability beyond STC datasheet conditions. This paper presents a traceable modeling workflow based on the standard single-diode formulation, implemented in MATLAB/Simulink (R2023a) as a modular white-box architecture that explicitly resolves photocurrent generation and loss mechanisms (diode recombination, shunt leakage, and series resistance effects) with temperature-consistent propagation through

V_{T} (T)

and saturation-current terms. The method couples optical boundary conditions to the electrical model by embedding plane-of-array (POA) excitation via the incidence angle

θ (t)

and roof albedo directly into the photocurrent source term, preserving the causal chain from mounting geometry to electrical response. Calibration is separated from prediction by initializing key parameters using the standard Simulink PV block and then freezing them for time-domain evaluation. The workflow is validated on a 395 W rooftop prototype using 1 min resolved POA irradiance (ISO 9060:2018 Class A radiometric chain) and module temperature (IEC 60751 Class A Pt100), synchronized with electrical measurements. Over a multi-week campaign, the model exhibits high fidelity, with a worst-case relative current error of ~1.1% and a consistently low bias and dispersion, quantified by ME, MAE, RMSE,

σ_{e}

, and thresholded MAPE.

Keywords: albedo effect; PV array performance; maximum power point tracking (MPPT); MATLAB/Simulink simulation; experimental validation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Popa, C.; Deliu, F.; Popa, A.; Volintiru, N.O.; Deliu, A.D.; Ciocioi, I.; Popov, P. Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation. Energies 2026, 19, 1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19061437

AMA Style

Popa C, Deliu F, Popa A, Volintiru NO, Deliu AD, Ciocioi I, Popov P. Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation. Energies. 2026; 19(6):1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19061437

Chicago/Turabian Style

Popa, Ciprian, Florențiu Deliu, Adrian Popa, Narcis Octavian Volintiru, Andrei Darius Deliu, Iancu Ciocioi, and Petrică Popov. 2026. "Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation" Energies 19, no. 6: 1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19061437

APA Style

Popa, C., Deliu, F., Popa, A., Volintiru, N. O., Deliu, A. D., Ciocioi, I., & Popov, P. (2026). Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation. Energies, 19(6), 1437. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19061437

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Traceable Time-Domain Photovoltaic Module Modeling with Plane-of-Array Irradiance and Solar Geometry Coupling: White-Box Simulink Implementation and Experimental Validation

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI