A bottom-up energy simulation framework to accurately compare PV module topologies under non-uniform and dynamic operating conditions

Abstract

Non-uniform operating conditions of photovoltaic modules have a huge impact on the energy generation of PV installations. To increase the energy yield of PV modules under non-uniform conditions, innovative module topologies have been proposed. However, a complete exploration of these topologies cannot be performed on the field, given the huge cost/time investment required for the realization of all potential topologies, as well as the large time required for comprehensively testing them in a real installation. Thus, it is more efficient and effective to compare them through simulations. An accurate and versatile simulation approach is proposed here which allows exploration of different PV module topologies under realistic time- and spatially-varying shading scenarios. The latter are created by matching measured weather data with simulated non-uniform and dynamic operating scenarios created by using the software SketchUp. The use of a physics-based bottom-up modeling approach for the different PV module topologies allows for accurate evaluation of the energy generated by each topology in the given operating conditions. Simulation results are presented that substantiate the feasibility of the methodology. Four relevant PV module topologies are compared, showing the better performance of reconfigurable topologies when uniform operating conditions are not dominant.