Topology reconfiguration for optimization of photovoltaic array output

Abstract

As more utility scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants are installed, there is a need to improve monitoring and management of PV arrays. A procedure is presented here for optimizing the electrical configuration of a PV array under a variety of operating conditions. Computer simulations and analysis with synthetic and real data are presented in this paper. The performance of the optimization system is evaluated for a variety of partial shading conditions using a SPICE circuit simulator. In general, a 4 − 5% gain in power output is achievable by employing active switching in order to reconfigure the array's electrical configuration.

An 18 kW solar array research facility for fault detection experiments

“…A weather monitoring station nearby records environmental conditions for fusion with collected PV data. The facility is intended to enable experimental research with results obtained for various loading and shading conditions that will validate and extend various theoretical results reported in [1][2][3][4]. Other work that is based on a similar framework is reported in [2,8,9].…”

“…A faulty panel can easily be removed from the system to prevent mismatch losses by using the bypass mode. In some cases, the default topology may be suboptimal [3]. In these cases, the series and parallel modes are used to define an alternate topology.…”

“…Neighboring modules are connected first in parallel and then in series, a configuration known as the total cross tied (TCT) topology. Previous results have shown that by optimizing the topology of the array, the power production under fault or mismatch conditions can be improved by 4-5% [3,10,11]. Figure 5 shows a schematic of the communication between the SMDs and the server.…”

“…These methods make possible automated system monitoring, fault detection, and predictive modeling. Additionally, dynamically switching array hardware can maximize power production even under non-ideal conditions [3]. A faulty panel could simply be bypassed from the system automatically, maximizing PV electrical production and eliminating system downtime.…”

Shade dispersion-based photovoltaic array configurations for performance enhancement under partial shading conditions

“…The present paper comprises literature review of the most appropriate research papers, which are studied for obtaining the research gap. The various types of PV array configurations are reviewed in their performance, reliability, accuracy, robustness, efficiency, and execution of each configuration …”