Constructing large panel solar simulator

[saturnine]

Hello all,

I've been tasked to help with the design and construction of a large panel (1.58 x 0.8 m) solar simulator to evaluate (I-V curves, fill factor, efficiency, etc) solar panels that will be going in and out of use with our facility, however I have very little experience with this. I've used continuous xenon arc lamps in grad school on very small devices (1 cm x 1 cm), but I'd like to pursure the single long pulse (SLP, ~100 ms) method with xenon flashlamps since I believe that is how industry has been doing commercial testing to prevent excessive heating of the panels.

From my research so far there has been so many components involved in this type of equipment (types of flashlamps, power supply, housing, triggering, software, hardware/mounting, etc, not to mention being able to calibrate it to Class AAA?). Can anyone direct me to resources (books, journals, people, anything) that can offer insight into how I can possibly do this?

I've looked into just simply buying a system, however they are over my budget of $100k. Would it be possible to construct one from the ground up at that price that can perform similar tests?

Thank you for ANY help you guys can provide. It is greatly appreciated!

[Sunking]

I've looked into just simply buying a system, however they are over my budget of $100k. Would it be possible to construct one from the ground up at that price that can perform similar tests?

I highly doubt it as it took the manufactures years and millions of dollars to develop their first proto-type with teams of engineers.

Just like trying to build your own panels. Impossible to duplicate for a DIY to duplicate quality for less expense an durability.

[inetdog]

I highly doubt it as it took the manufactures years and millions of dollars to develop their first proto-type with teams of engineers.

Just like trying to build your own panels. Impossible to duplicate for a DIY to duplicate quality for less expense an durability.

Producing a system that includes a curve tracer, associated power supplies and light sources, along with temperature control, etc. for that amount may be possible. But it would give you only relative numbers which you could use to compare two panels or diagnose problems. If you want calibrated and traceable accuracy in any of the measurements, I agree wholeheartedly with Derek's analysis.
The easiest component to procure would probably be the curve tracer, which you would buy from an instrument manufacturer like Agilent or Tectronix. Those are not cheap by themselves and could chew up half of your budget. (Or else a less versatile and less accurate instrument like the ones available from Solmetric, designed for field use.)