Operation of the PVPM
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It is important, that all 4 plugs of the 4-wire-measurement are connected properly by the delivered 4-wire-cable
or (if you don’t want a 4-wire-measurement) the two red plugs should be connected and the two black plugs as
well. Use standard short circuit plugs (19mm) or laboratory cables for this purpose. Without this connection a
measurement is not possible!
When connected in wrong polarity an internal diode will prevent the PVPM from damage.
Caution: keep a sufficient distance to power leading parts of the cables between solar generator and measuring
device. These cables may lead high tension what may affect your health even without direct contact!
6.7 Connecting the Combination Sensor
For a measurement you must connect a Pt100/Pt1000 temperature sensor and a Phox irradiance sensor
(delivered as a combined device) to the relevant plug(s) of the PVPM. For just the measurement of serial
resistance Rs or I-V-curve these sensors are obsolete. The plugs are constructed in a way which prevents you
from connecting a sensor to a wrong plug.
The combined Phox/Pt1000 sensor should be mounted near the modules to be measured. It must have exactly
the same orientation (elevation and azimuth) regarding the sun as the modules have. Most time the easiest way
is the direct assembly to the module frame. Please take care that the sensor will drop no shadow to the module!
The sensor needs several minutes to adapt to the environmental conditions: the reference cell firstly should
reach the temperature of the module, before you can start to measure I-V-curves with the PVPM (see
chap.6.10).
For this reason the sensor should not be set up far away from the modules (e.g. modules on the roof, sensor in
the yard). Since the solar cells do not react only to the direct irradiation, but also to light reflected in the
environment, the sensor can possibly notice different light intensity in the same orientation of sensor and
modules and so falsify the results of the measurement.
In the simplest case the sensor is fastened with a clamp to the modules under test. Pay attention that the sensor
does not shadow the modules under test! The sensor should have some time in order to adapt to the site
conditions. At PVPM devices that have no second temperature measuring input the sensor must approximately
reach the temperature of the module under test (the temperatures are readable on the display of the running
PVPM). For security reasons we recommend to check the back surface temperature of the module under test
additionally manually e.g. with an infrared thermometer. Now a measurement with the PVPM can be carried out
(s. also chapter 8).
6.8 Switching-on
Switch the power of PVPM on by activating the switch “Power” at the front panel. The TFT display will show the
start-up screen:
The PVPM will now pass some self tests and will be ready after about 10-15 seconds of operation. The device is
ready when the main menu appears on the LCD-screen:
PVPM 1000X / 1040X
User Manual
PV-Engineering GmbH
