Solar Simulation

Present a photovoltaic source with programmable irradiance

Drive an EA PSB supply in photovoltaic mode so a DUT sees a real solar panel’s current-voltage curve rather than a stiff supply.

Handle

use lager::LagerBox;

let lager = LagerBox::from_env()?;
let panel = lager.solar("solar1");

Methods

Method	Description
name()	The net name this handle addresses
set()	Initialize the instrument and start PV simulation
stop()	Stop PV simulation and release the instrument’s remote lock
irradiance()	Read the configured irradiance
set_irradiance()	Set irradiance in W/m2
mpp_current()	Maximum-power-point current
mpp_voltage()	Maximum-power-point voltage
resistance()	Read dynamic panel resistance
set_resistance()	Set dynamic panel resistance
temperature()	Cell temperature
voc()	Open-circuit voltage

Method Reference

set() -> Result<()>

Initialize the instrument and enter photovoltaic mode. Call this before anything else.

stop() -> Result<()>

Leave PV mode and release the instrument’s remote lock, handing the front panel back.

set_irradiance(watts_per_m2: f64) -> Result<f64>

Set irradiance, in W/m2, over the range 0 to 1500.

panel.set_irradiance(800.0)?;

Returns: f64 — the value that the instrument actually applied. The instrument can clamp the requested value.

set_resistance(ohms: f64) -> Result<f64>

Set the dynamic panel resistance, the ratio that shapes the knee of the curve.

Returns: the applied value.

irradiance(), mpp_current(), mpp_voltage(), resistance(), temperature(), voc()

Reads, returning f64 in W/m2, amps, volts, ohms, degrees Celsius and volts respectively.

Examples

Sweep irradiance across a day and check the charger tracks it

use lager::LagerBox;

let lager = LagerBox::from_env()?;
let panel = lager.solar("solar1");

panel.set()?;
for irradiance in [200.0_f64, 500.0, 800.0, 1000.0, 400.0] {
    let applied = panel.set_irradiance(irradiance)?;
    std::thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2));

    let (v, i) = (panel.mpp_voltage()?, panel.mpp_current()?);
    println!("{applied:>6.0} W/m2 -> MPP {v:.2} V, {i:.3} A, {:.2} W", v * i);
}
panel.stop()?;

Supported Hardware

Instrument	Notes
EA PSB 10080-60	Photovoltaic mode
EA PSB 10060-60	Photovoltaic mode

Notes

• Every solar action re-asserts PV mode on the instrument before doing its work, including the reads. That makes even voc() slow. This net type therefore has the widest timeout budgets in the crate: 120 seconds for set() and stop(), and 90 seconds for everything else.
• A solar net drives the same physical instrument a power-supply net can point at. The box serializes both under one per-address lock, so their SCPI traffic cannot interleave, but they are the same hardware.
• stop() releases the instrument’s remote lock. Skipping it leaves the front panel locked out for whoever walks up to the bench next.