Abstract
Fault detection and repair of the components of photovoltaic (PV) systems are essential to avoid economic losses and facility accidents, thereby ensuring reliable and safe systems. This article presents a method to detect faults in a PV system based on power ratio (PR), voltage ratio (VR), and current ratio (IR). The lower control limit (LCL) and upper control limit (UCL) of each ratio were defined using the data of a test site system under normal operating conditions. If PR exceeded the set range, the algorithm considered a fault. Subsequently, PR and IR were examined via the algorithm to diagnose faults in the system as series, parallel, or total faults. The results showed that PR exceeded the designated range between LCL (0.93) and UCL (1.02) by dropping to 0.91–0.68, 0.88–0.62, and 0.66–0.33 for series, total, and parallel faults, respectively. Moreover, VR exceeded the LCL (0.99) and UCL (1.01) by 0.95–0.69 and 0.91–0.62 for series and total faults, respectively, but not under parallel faults condition. IR did not change in series and total faults but exceeded the range of LCL (0.93) and UCL (1.05) by dropping to 0.66–0.33. Thus, faults in PV systems can be detected and diagnosed by analyzing quantitative output values.
Highlights
T HE significant developments in photovoltaic (PV) systems in China during the past three years have contributed to a global increase in the number of PV systems
This study presented a method to predict the output of a PV system using environmental variables and subsequently detect and diagnose faults in the system
The normal running condition of a PV system was defined from a regression model by utilizing adapted environmental variables
Summary
T HE significant developments in photovoltaic (PV) systems in China during the past three years have contributed to a global increase in the number of PV systems. PV generation is influenced by various environmental factors, i.e., irradiance, ambient temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (WS) [4] The relationship between these factors and the output of the PV system can be expressed using a correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient between the WS and the output power of the PV system is 0.19, which indicates a weak relationship It is still a positive value because wind cools the surface of the PV module, leading to an increase in the output power of the PV system [16]. Calculations were performed to detect and diagnose faults in the PV system using the proposed algorithm based on output data under normal operating conditions This algorithm can be essential for ground, floating, and/or marine-based PV systems, where installation conditions are sensitive to sudden climatic changes
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