Experimental investigation on output power enhancement of partial shaded solar photovoltaic system

Abstract

ABSTRACT There are various factors that contribute towardsthereduction of output power from photovoltaic (PV) arrays. One of the major factors is thepartial shading. Partial shading is caused by the passage of clouds and thepresence of buildings, towers, and trees. Shading affects the power generation of the PV system. It needs support to survive even under shading conditions. Conventionally partial shading is identified by measuring the open-circuit voltages and short circuit currents of the PV panels by isolating the load from thePV array. But the proposed methodidentifies the partial shading without isolating the load from thePV array by using a normal camera. This method is more sensitive toward any disturbance in the system performance. A digital camera is used to capture the image of the PV array, and then by using the image processing techniques,partialshadingis identified. The proposed method uses therelay circuit to do electrical reconfiguration to enhance the power output during partial shading conditions. The control signals for the relays are generated based on the partial shading. In the proposed method,acamera is interfaced with MATLAB, and the captured images are processed instantly to detect the fault or partial shading. Then the reconfiguration signals are given through MATLAB-Arduino interface to the relay circuits in the PV array, which in turn reconfigures the PV array for better output power generation. The proposed method is tested in 80 W solar PV system, which enhances the power by 12%. It is suitable for the small-sized solar PV power plants ranging from 1 kW to 5 kW.