Solar array string characteristics in strange places

Solar cell string characteristics are well documented when operating in the fourth quadrant of the characteristic curve under illumination (insolation). However, there is little consolidated documentation on the characteristics of strings/arrays operating under shadow or short circuit conditions. These conditions cause operation in the first or third quadrants of the device characteristic curve. This paper attempts to regress this long-standing injustice. The subject matter is addressed in the following order: (1) a description of the device behavior in each quadrant; (2) a discussion of the conditions which cause the device to operate in quadrants I and III; (3) a discussion of the impacts to the system resulting from operation under these conditions; and (4) discussion of the resulting design implications