Simple vs complex models for solar cells

In this paper three different procedures for extracting the current-voltage characteristics of a crystalline photovoltaic module are studied. Each procedure is associated to a solar cell model characterized by a well-defined degree of complexity. The results emphasize that the simple models approximate the current-voltage characteristics of a solar cell as good as the more complex models. Even if all the procedures analysed in this paper approximate well the measured characteristics, the specific model parameters experience a large dispersion. From a broader perspective, the results raise a question mark on the ability of the current procedures to accurately extract the solar cell parameters.