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as been told in the previous posts by others basic method is using ammeter,voltmeter..readings measuring them over certain intervals of time and taking the average..and calculate the power ...or if u want further more description or measuring of power ,go through smart meters ....hope u understood me...
Although we like to have a practical outcome from doing electronics, there is also the element of enjoyment we get from it.
There are several specs we can measure about a solar panel's performance. I suggest doing all of them, from the easiest to the most difficult.
Start with measuring volt output in different light-dark levels.
Then amp output. These kinds of activities were fun for me, when I purchased a grab-bag of PV panel pieces from Edmund Scientific.
I did spend a lot of time testing and measuring. I didn't mind. I was learning about something remarkable (how silicon can turn light into electricity). I had fun doing it.
I purchased silvery conductive paste, so wires would stick to the fronts and backs of the panels. I discovered how many PV cells to string together, in order to charge a small battery. I got a sense of accomplishment.
Later I obtained large PV panels to put on my roof so I would have a backup power system. I measured their performance the same way.
It was for practical purposes. And I gained a sense of accomplishment. This is a legitimate reward.
o The PV panel testing consisted of a light source, a multimeter for voltage and current readings, a pyranometer for the solar irradiation reading, a rheostat load.
o The PV panel was placed under the light source at various positions(parllel to light source,60 degrees with source), then the voltage and current measurements were taken from the rheostat load using the multimeter.
o As mentioned the testing was done by varying the position of light source or the PV panel at various angles respective to each other making sure that the pyranometer reading doesn’t exceed 1000W/m2.
o The pyranometer readings at different positions are averaged and the corresponding voltage –current readings are tabulated.
o To study more about the shading, the PV panel had been covered by an object which shades some portion of the PV cells.
to calculate in particular region u need the inclination of that region over a certain period say, for 2011 during the summer period ,u can get the actual data if u google for meteorological data
@ klystron: How do you measure microprocessor to measure current ??? You could obviously use ADC to measure voltage but how can you measure current,do you mean to pass it through a high resistance,measure voltage and pass it through ADC.???
I didn't have the chance to build a solar panel. But I think if if I can have such panels, the first thing I will do is to charge a battery (or more) and the first interesting measurement I will look for is the Ah (amp-hour) charge delivered to the battery (as BradtheRad already pointed it out). In brief, as long I let the average of this charge (Ah) be as high as possible, I can be sure that my system is working at its optimum state. I mean measuring the delivered energy is, at least to me, not more important than measuring the current unless there is no battery to be charged in the first place.
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