A system for obtaining photovoltaic characteristics of one or more photovoltaic modules and a photovoltaic array includes a voltage and current measuring means for measuring the voltage and current values from an output of the photovoltaic modules and the photovoltaic array, a reactive load capable of providing varying loads to each of the photovoltaic modules and the photovoltaic array, a control panel for selectively connecting the voltage and current measuring means and the reactive load to each of the photovoltaic modules and the photovoltaic array for collecting a number of photovoltaic parameters and a data processing and storage means for processing a variety of data including the photovoltaic parameters to generate the photovoltaic characteristics curves and the photovoltaic characteristic values of each of the photovoltaic modules and the photovoltaic array in real-time.