Solar photovoltaic technologies have undergone significant scientific development. To ensure the transfer of knowledge through the training of qualified personnel, didactic tools that can be acquired or built at a reasonable price are needed. Most training and research centres have restrictions on acquiring specific equipment due to its high cost. With this in mind, this article presents the development and transfer of a low-cost I–V curve tracer acquisition system. The device is made up of embedded systems with all the necessary hardware and software for its operation. The hardware and software presented are open source and have a low cost, i.e., the estimated material cost of the system is less than 200 euros. For its development, four institutions from three different countries participated in the project. Three photovoltaic technologies were used to measure the uncertainties related to the equipment developed. In addition, the system can be transferred for use as an academic or research tool, as long as the measurement does not need to be certified. Two accredited laboratories have certified the low uncertainties in the measurement of the proposed system.

This article describes a complete characterization system for photovoltaic devices designed to acquire the current-voltage curve and to process the obtained data. The proposed system can be replicated for educational or research purposes without having wide knowledge about electronic engineering. Using standard calibrated instrumentation, commonly available in any laboratory, the accuracy of measurements is ensured. A capacitive load is used to bias the device due to its versatility and simplicity. The system includes a common part and an interchangeable part that must be designed depending on the electrical characteristics of each PV device. Control software, developed in LabVIEW, controls the equipment, performs automatic campaigns of measurements, and performs additional calculations in real time. These include different procedures to extrapolate the measurements to standard test conditions and methods to obtain the intrinsic parameters of the single diode model. A deep analysis of the uncertainty of measurement is also provided. Finally, the proposed system is validated by comparing the results obtained from some commercial photovoltaic modules to the measurements given by an independently accredited laboratory.

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