Photovoltaic DC-Building-Module-Based BIPV System—Concept and Design Considerations

The photovoltaic (PV) modules used in the building-integrated PV (BIPV) system, generally, can be installed in different orientations and angles. Moreover, performance of the PV modules is easy to be affected by partial shadows and mismatch of their electrical parameters. Consequently, the conventional power configurations are difficult to obtain higher energy efficiency and reliability. Some improved power configurations of BIPV system have been presented to solve these problems. The objective of the paper is to give an overview of the existing solutions, and then, proposes an efficient and cost-effective power configuration of BIPV system from the energy conversion and control point of view. The proposed power configuration consists of plenty of PV dc-building module (PV-DCBM) and a centralized inverter. Each PV-DCBM includes a high step-up dc-dc converter integrated with a PV module into an individual electrical device. The PV-DCBMs are parallel connected, and then, connected to a common dc bus. The centralized inverter is connected to the grid. The design criterions, optimum design considerations, and design procedure of the proposed PV-DCBM-based BIPV system are proposed in this paper. The experimental results are presented to verify the validity and feasibility of the novel concept.