Optimal interconnections to address partial shading losses in solar photovoltaic arrays

Abstract

Solar Photovoltaic systems are emerging as the best alternatives to meet rising demand of energy. However, their output changes with variation in temperature, insolation, using modules/arrays from different technologies/manufacturers, aging, partial shading conditions etc. As a result, produced power of these systems is lower than the expected value and thus lessens the reliability of overall system. Among all these factors, partial shading causes major reduction in power received from solar photovoltaic systems. In order to address this issue, interconnections laws are proposed to reduce partial shading losses that arise because of fixed, easy-to-predict and inevitable shading conditions. The proposed interconnections are capable to optimize number of interconnections among modules as well as partial shading losses. These interconnections are based on number of shaded modules and their locations within the array.