Abstract
AbstractBuilding integrated and building attached photovoltaic (BIPV, BAPV) systems may suffer from lower performance than predicted as a result of unwanted partial shading. New system architectures have been proposed to optimize performance. The common approach of these new architectures is to track the maximum power point of every solar module individually. This paper demonstrates the effect of shading on energy yield by evaluating power level management on the module level compared to string level. Three independent PV systems were installed and extensively monitored in Eindhoven, a reference string inverter system, a power optimizer system and a micro inverter system. The DC and AC performance ratio (PR) of the systems have been analyzed for different weather types based on the clearness index. A pole shading covering 1–2% of the total system surface has been used to evaluate system performance under a specific type of partial shading. Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE) is capable of increasing the PR up to 35% under certain partial shading conditions. However, the string inverter system outperformed MLPE under unshaded operation conditions.
Highlights
Penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the Netherlands and worldwide has remarkably increased the past years and it is forecasted to keep growing in the future [1]
The application of building integrated and building attached photovoltaic (BIPV and BAPV) systems are projected to thrive in the following years as a result of increasing electricity prices for the residential sector and decreasing PV component costs
Solar panels are connected in series and sharing the same current in a string. This topology is prone to power losses if the solar cells in the panel are not operating under the same conditions thereby reducing the current of the panel and of the whole string
Summary
Penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the Netherlands and worldwide has remarkably increased the past years and it is forecasted to keep growing in the future [1]. The inverter is connected to the grid and is equipped with a MPP tracking algorithm in order to extract the maximum available power from the solar panels. This topology is prone to power losses if the solar cells in the panel are not operating under the same conditions thereby reducing the current of the panel and of the whole string.
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