Photovoltaic Systems Reconfiguration

Abstract

A photovoltaic field is typically composed by series-connected panels, thus composing strings, which are then connected in parallel. By this way, the current and the voltage values of the photovoltaic generator are adapted to operating range of the power electronics systems that transform the generated energy, conveying it to the load and to the electrical grid. The performance of the photovoltaic systems are reduced when a partial shading of the field occurs. In this case, the modules could work under very different conditions from each other, so that the system components may not be able to maximize the generated energy and/or the operating constraints of power electronics systems are not respected. The reconfiguration of the electrical connections among the panels leads to maximize the performance of the photovoltaic systems but it requires additional hardware and it causes further energy consumptions that have to be minimized by executing the reconfiguration procedure only when the shading phenomena occur. The choice of the electrical configuration of the panels is determined by an appropriate algorithm and then it is actuated by a matrix of relays... [edited by author]