Renewable energy sources are booming, largely thanks to the awareness raised by current policies about the imminent climate change. In this article we are going to talk about Gpvdm, a powerful program for simulation of solar cells and seeing the results in real time. With this environment you can simulate a-Si, CIGS, crystalline silicon and organic solar cells.
The utility allows you to test different materials, all under a very simple interface. It is an ideal service for professionals, for academic settings or, why not, for curious amateurs. Gpvdm is an open source program that is very easy to use, at least if you are familiar with solar cells. With the environment you can also perform OLED and OFET (device) simulations.
Starting a simulation
When you open a new project, from a pop-up window you will have to choose the solar cell you want to simulate. At this point you will have to select the parameters of the solar cell. You can choose a specific optical material for each cell. To do this, click on Layer editor and you will customize the thickness of the layer, its name and type of layer.
Running the simulation and viewing results
After inserting all these parameters, you can start the simulation by clicking the Start button. When the simulation starts, you will have to go to the output tab to see the results. From the toolbar you have the possibility to view a graphical report with very good results.
If you are studying solar energy, you are a professional or businessperson who wants to take advantage of renewable energy policies, or if you are a citizen who wants to incorporate solar energy to contribute to caring for the environment and at the same time combat high electricity costs, with Gpvdm you will get a powerful solution for simulation of solar cells. With this program you can experiment and modify various parameters of the solar cells, as long as you have knowledge of the properties of solar cells.
