Parametric estimation in photovoltaic modules using the crow search algorithm

The problem of parametric estimation in photovoltaic (PV) modules considering man- ufacturer information is addressed in this research from the perspective of combinatorial optimization. With the data sheet provided by the PV manufacturer, a non-linear non-convex optimization problem is formulated that contains information regarding maximum power, open-circuit, and short-circuit points. To estimate the three parameters of the PV model (i.e., the ideality diode factor (a) and the parallel and series resistances (R p and R )), the crow search algorithm (CSA) is employed, which is a metaheuristic optimization technique inspired by the behavior of the crows searching food deposits. The CSA allows the exploration and exploitation of the solution space through a simple evolution rule derived from the classical PSO method. Numerical simulations reveal the effectiveness and robustness of the CSA to estimate these parameters with objective function values lower than 1 10 s 28 and processing times less than 2 s. All the numerical simulations were developed in MATLAB 2020a and compared with the sine-cosine and vortex search algorithms recently reported in the literature.