Search Results (7)

Global reliance on depleting energy resources is driving the urgent need for alternative solutions to address escalating energy demands. Solar energy, a prominent renewable resource, leverages various configurations and techniques to maximize power output, even under challenging environmental conditions. In photovoltaic (PV) arrays, partial shading conditions (PSCs) significantly hinder efficiency by reducing power extraction across solar panels. Traditionally, configurations such as series, parallel, series-to-parallel, and bridge-linked (BL) are employed to optimize power output; however, each has limitations under PSCs. Here, we introduce a modified bridge-linked (Modified BL) configuration designed to mitigate the adverse effects of partial shading on PV arrays. This approach allows for interconnected solar modules that reduce shading impact across an entire array, thus preserving efficiency by isolating shaded sections and minimizing power loss. The Modified BL configuration not only supports maximum power point tracking (MPPT) but also enhances resilience against shading, ensuring stable power output. Our simulation results underscore the critical influence of irradiance levels on PV electricity generation, suggesting that incorporating irradiance variability as a design parameter is essential in selecting optimal PV interconnection schemes under PSCs. This study contributes to advancing solar array design by providing a robust method to maintain power output in partial shading conditions, ultimately supporting broader efforts in renewable energy optimization. Full article

One of the most important causes of a reduction in power generation in PV panels is the non-uniform aging of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The increase in the current–voltage (I–V) mismatch among the array modules is the primary cause of this kind of degradation. There have been several array configurations investigated over the years to reduce mismatch power loss (MPL) caused by shadowing, but there have not been any experimental studies that have specifically examined the impact of various hybrid array topologies taking PV module aging into consideration. This research examines the influence of the non-uniform aging scenario on the performance of solar PV modules with various interconnection strategies. Experiments have been carried out on a 4 × 10, 400 W array with 12 possible configurations, including three proposed configurations (LD-TCT, SP-LD, and LD-SP), to detect the electrical characteristics of a PV system. Finally, the performances of different module configurations are analyzed where the newly proposed configurations (SP-LD and LD-SP) show 15.80% and 15.94% higher recoverable energy (RE), respectively, than the most-adopted configuration (SP). Moreover, among the twelve configurations, the SP configuration shows the highest percentage of MPL, which is about 17.96%, whereas LD-SP shows the lowest MPL at about 4.88%. Full article

Energy demand forecasted for the next several years has been bench marked due to the massive need for electrical energy. Solar power plants have earned a great marketplace position in recent years, but also face challenges in terms of power dissipation due to the frequent occurrence of shade. As a result, the per unit solar electricity price increases drastically. There is an immense need to ensure the maximum dependable power conversion efficiency of Photovoltaic (PV) systems by mitigating power output losses during partial shading conditions. The reconfiguration of PV arrays is a useful, effective, and promising approach in this context. Though several reconfiguration techniques have been developed in recent years, their applicability to real-time power plants is debatable due to the requirement of many physical relocations, long interconnecting ties, and complexity. This research work proposes a novel row index mathematical procedure followed by a technique in which the reconfiguration matrix indexes are filled with a unique number so that no row number repeats in the same row and column. Additionally, the proposed approach uses small number of switches that reduce the cost as well as the computational complexity. To strengthen the analysis, very recent techniques such as Sudoku, Total Cross Tied (TCT), Chess-Knight, and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based reconfiguration are compared against five different shading patterns. It has been observed that approximately 68% power loss is mitigated in TCT configuration. It is worth noting that it results in higher PV output power than the existing latest reconfiguration techniques such as PSO, Chess-Knight, Sudoku, and others. Full article

A photovoltaic (PV) system is composed of a PV panel, controller and boost converter. This review article presents a critical review, contributing to a better understanding of the interrelationship of all these internal devices in the PV system, their respective layouts, fundamental working principles, and architectural effects. The PV panel is a power-generating device. A controller is an electronic device that controls the circulating circuits in a PV system to collect as much PV output as possible from the solar panel. The boost converter is an intermediate device that regulates the PV output based on the duty cycle provided by the controller. This review article also updates readers on the latest information regarding the technological evolution of these interconnected devices, along with their predicted future scope and challenges. Regarding the research on PV panels, this paper explains in depth the mathematical modeling of PV cells, the evolution of solar cell technology over generations, and their future prospects predicted based on the collected evidence. Then, connection patterns of PV modules are studied to better understand the effect of PV array configuration on photovoltaic performance. For the controller, state-of-the-art maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques are reviewed under the classification to reveal near-term trends in MPPT applications. On the other hand, various converter topologies proposed from 2020 to 2022 are reviewed in terms of tested frequency, voltage gain, and peak efficiency to comprehend recent evolution trends and future challenges. All presented information is intended to facilitate and motivate researchers to deepen relevant applications in the future. Full article

The analysis and the assessment of interconnected photovoltaic (PV) modules under different shading conditions and various shading patterns are presented in this paper. The partial shading conditions (PSCs) due to the various factors reduce the power output of PV arrays, and its characteristics have multiple peaks due to the mismatching losses between PV panels. The principal objective of this paper is to model, analyze, simulate and evaluate the performance of PV array topologies such as series-parallel (SP), honey-comb (HC), total-cross-tied (TCT), ladder (LD) and bridge-linked (BL) under different shading patterns to produce the maximum power by reducing the mismatching losses (MLs). Along with the conventional PV array topologies, this paper also discusses the hybrid PV array topologies such as bridge-linked honey-comb (BLHC), bridge-linked total-cross-tied (BLTCT) and series-parallel total-cross-tied (SPTCT). The performance analysis of the traditional PV array topologies along with the hybrid topologies is carried out during static and dynamic shading patterns by comparing the various parameters such as the global peak (GP), local peaks (LPs), corresponding voltage and current at GP and LPs, fill factor (FF) and ML. In addition, the voltage and current equations of the HC configuration under two shading conditions are derived, which represents one of the novelties of this paper. The various parameters of the SPR-200-BLK-U PV module are used for PV modeling and simulation in MATLAB/Simulink software. Thus, the obtained results provide useful information to the researchers for healthy operation and power maximization of PV systems. Full article

Fault analysis in photovoltaic (PV) arrays is considered important for improving the safety and efficiency of a PV system. Faults do not only reduce efficiency but are also detrimental to the life span of a system. Output can be greatly affected by PV technology, configuration, and other operating conditions. Thus, it is important to consider the impact of different PV configurations and materials for thorough analysis of faults. This paper presents a detailed investigation of faults including non-uniform shading, open circuit and short circuit in different PV interconnections including Series-Parallel (SP), Honey-Comb (HC) and Total-cross-Tied (TCT). A special case of multiple faults in PV array under non-uniform irradiance is also investigated to analyze their combined impact on considered different PV interconnections. In order to be more comprehensive, we have considered monocrystalline and thin-film PV to analyze faults and their impact on power grids. Simulations are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink, and the obtained results in terms of power(P)–voltage(V) curve are compared and discussed. It is found that utilization of thin-film PV technology with appropriated PV interconnections can minimize the impact of faults on a power grid with improved performance of the system. Full article

Partial shading on photovoltaic (PV) arrays reduces the overall output power and causes multiple maximas on the output power characteristics. Due to the introduction of multiple maximas, mismatch power losses become apparent among multiple PV modules. These mismatch power losses are not only a function of shading characteristics, but also depend on the placement and interconnection patterns of the shaded modules within the array. This research work is aimed to assess the performance of 4 × 4 PV array under different shading conditions. The desired objective is to attain the maximum output power from PV modules at different possible shading patterns by using power electronic-based differential power processing (DPP) techniques. Various PV array interconnection configurations, including the series-parallel (SP), total-cross-tied (TCT), bridge-linked (BL), and center-cross-tied (CCT) are considered under the designed shading patterns. A comparative performance analysis is carried out by analyzing the output power from the DPP-based architecture and the traditional Schottky diode-based architecture. Simulation results show the gain in the output power by using the DPP-based architecture in comparison to the traditional bypassing diode method. Full article