An Online Novel Two-Layered Photovoltaic Fault Monitoring Technique Based Upon the Thermal Signatures

Qamar Navid,Ahmed Hassan,Abbas Ahmad Fardoun,Rashad Ramzan

doi:10.3390/su12229607

Abstract

The share of photovoltaic (PV) power generation in the energy mix is increasing at a rapid pace with dramatically increasing capacity addition through utility-scale PV power plants globally. As PV plants are forecasted to be a major energy generator in the future, their reliable operation remains of primary concern due to a possibility of faults in a tremendously huge number of PV panels involved in power generation in larger plants. The precise detection of nature and the location of the faults along with a prompt remedial mechanism is deemed crucial for smoother power plant operation. The existing fault diagnostic methodologies based on thermal imaging of the panels as well as electrical parameters through inverter possess certain limitations. The current article deals with a novel fault diagnostic technique based on PV panel electrical parameters and junction temperatures that can precisely locate and categorize the faults. The proposed scheme has been tested on a 1.6 kW photovoltaic system for short circuit, open circuit, grounding, and partial shading faults. The proposed method showed improved accuracy compared to thermal imaging on panel scale fault detection, offering a possibility to adapt to the PV plant scale.

Highlights

The current trends of market penetration of renewable energy sources are predicted to minimize the reliance on conventional energy generation systems with annual capacity growth of 7.9% in 2018, as shown in Figure 1 [1]
The PV generators are prone to faults on the generation side, so-called direct current (DC), and on-grid integration side, so-called alternating current (AC), connected through an inverter
Allthe the measurements measurementsare are carried carried out out through through grounded, thermocouples and thethe technique is performed by employing the thermal imaging camera

Summary

Introduction

The current trends of market penetration of renewable energy sources are predicted to minimize the reliance on conventional energy generation systems with annual capacity growth of 7.9% in 2018, as shown in Figure 1 [1]. PV systems showed tremendous market compatibility and scalability, yet they face serious challenges in terms of maintaining a smooth power supply when applied to the utility-scale. One of the main challenges facing PV plants is the diversity, location, and clearance time of panel faults occurring frequently in the PV plants [3]. The nature of faults frequently reported on the DC side include mismatch [4], interconnection and connection [5], earth [6], arc [7], line to line [8], bypass diode [9], short circuit

Methods

Results

Conclusion