Abstract
A recent approach to mitigate the adverse effects of photovoltaic (PV) arrays operating under mismatching conditions is the dynamic electrical reconfiguration of the PV panels. This paper introduces a procedure to determine the best configuration of a PV array connected in a series-parallel structure without using complex mathematical models. Such a procedure uses the experimental current vs. voltage curves of the PV panels, which are composed of multiple PV modules, to construct the power vs. voltage curves of all of the possible configurations to identify the optimal one. The main advantage of this method is the low computational effort required to reconstruct the power vs. voltage curves of the array. This characteristic enables one to implement the proposed solution using inexpensive embedded devices, which are widely adopted in industrial applications. The proposed method, and its embedded implementation, were tested using a hardware-in-the-loop simulation of the PV system. Finally, the real-time operation and benefits of the proposed solution are illustrated using a practical example based on commercial devices.
Highlights
Urban photovoltaic (PV) systems are formed, in general, by a few PV panels driven by a grid-connected inverter
The PV array considered for the simulations is composed of two strings of four panels each (N = 4 and M = 2), which has 35 possible configurations that should be evaluated to find the best one for a given shading condition
The time delay between two consecutive executions of the reconfiguration algorithm was set to 90 s, because one run of the reconfiguration algorithm takes around 36 s; in some cases, the PV power variability can be up to 60% in 60 s, as reported in [49]
Summary
Urban photovoltaic (PV) systems are formed, in general, by a few PV panels driven by a grid-connected inverter. [4], the SP configuration is the most widely adopted in commercial systems due to its simplicity and reduced number of connections. In such a way, the manufacturers of commercial inverters commonly describe the device ratings in terms of SP arrays, e.g., see Sunny Boy 1200 [5] or the Solar Edge SE6000 datasheets [6]. I.e., all of the PV panels exhibiting the same parameters, temperature and solar irradiance, the electrical characteristics of the PV array are proportional to the ones of any panel, just scaled in voltage by the number of panels in series and scaled in current by the number of strings in parallel. If some (or all) PV panels exhibit different parameters, e.g., Energies 2016, 9, 2; doi:10.3390/en9010002 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
