Getting started#

To get started with pv_tandem you will need two (three) things:

Install pv_tandem into your python enviroment.
Define the one-diode parameters.
(Optinal) Irradiance data for a specific location.

The third step can be omitted if the specific device should only be modeled for standart test conditions (STC). To learn more about the modeling approach of pv_tandem see the modeling basics section

Installation#

To install pv_tandem, run this command in your terminal:

$ pip install pv_tandem

Basic Usage#

The basic requirement to simulate any solar cell with pv_tandem is to define the one-diode model with corespodning parameters, the absorbed photocurrent (Jsc) and the cell temperture:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
from pv_tandem.solarcell_models import OneDiodeModel

one_diode = OneDiodeModel(
    tcJsc=-0.001, tcVoc=-0.0013, R_shunt=5000, R_series=1.5, n=1, j0=1e-12
)

j_arr = np.linspace(0,40,401)
voltage = one_diode.calc_iv(Jsc = 39, cell_temp = 25, j_arr = j_arr)
fig, ax = plt.subplots()

ax.plot(voltage, j_arr)

ax.set_xlabel("Voltage (V)")
ax.set_ylabel("Current density (mA/cm2)")
ax.set_xlim(0,0.9)
ax.set_ylim(0)
plt.show()

(Source code, png, hires.png, pdf)

You can find many examples in the Gallery that show how to simulate different types of solar cells and tandem with bifacial or monofacial illumination.

Welcome to pv_tandem’s documentation!

Model basics