Impedance Matching Solar Cells

Can you use impedance matching to calculate the internal resistance of a solar cell by finding out at what resistance on a variable resistor the power output is maximum and then making that equal the the internal resistance.
- James (age 16)
England

This sounds like a nice idea. I'd caution that the effective internal impedance of the solar cell is likely to depend on how much light hits it. It would be interesting to see if the resistance giving the maximum power output depended on illumination. 

Another way to measure the internal impedance is with an ac-based ohmeter.

Mike W.

(published on 02/22/2014)