Maximum Power from PV Arrays Using a Fixed Configuration Under Different Shading Conditions

A major challenge in photovoltaic (PV) systems is making them energy efficient. One of the major factors that contribute to the reduction of PV power is partial shading. The reduction in power depends on module interconnection scheme and shading pattern. Different interconnection schemes are used to reduce the losses caused by partial shading. This paper presents a fixed interconnection scheme for PV arrays that enhances the PV power under different shading conditions. The proposed scheme facilitates distribution of the effect of shading over the entire array thereby reducing the mismatch losses caused by partial shading. The performance of the system is investigated for different shading conditions and the MATLAB/SIMULINK results are presented to show that the power extracted from the PV arrays under partial shading conditions is improved. Experimental results are provided to validate the proposed approach using a laboratory experimental setup. A comparison is also made between the electrical array reconfiguration scheme and the proposed scheme for a 5 × 5 PV array.