Dynamic reconfiguration of photovoltaic array for minimizing mismatch loss

Abstract

Mismatch conditions owing to different internal and external factors, such as partial shading and module defects, can directly degrade the power generation of distributed photovoltaic arrays. In this study, a reconfiguration solution called multiple switching matrices is proposed to mitigate mismatch losses for any size of the total-cross-tied photovoltaic array. In the proposed solution, the photovoltaic array is divided into several sub-arrays using switching matrices. The current and voltage values of each module are collected by the electric measurement sensors and sent to the control unit, and the proposed reconfiguration solution can be implemented by controlling switching matrices. The performance of the proposed reconfiguration solution is evaluated extensively for a range of mismatched conditions, including partial shading patterns and partial shading with random failure patterns. The P–V and I–V characteristics are analyzed by comparison with the existing sudoku-based arrangement and the conventional total-cross-tied interconnection topology. Moreover, three main parameters and standard deviations of the maximum power point for each pattern, are considered. The numerical results confirm the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed reconfiguration solution for optimizing photovoltaic array generation under various mismatch conditions.