Enhanced performance metrics under shading conditions through experimental investigations

The phenomenon of partial shading adversely affects photovoltaic arrays, e.g. multiple peak points in P-V characteristic curves and reducing the output power. Array reconfiguration is the best and efficient way of alleviating the partial shading effects. Physical relocation of panels can be used as a practical solution to prevent shading problems by altering the physical location of panels by not changing its electrical circuit. In this study, a new reconfiguration technique named as Arrow Sudoku pattern is proposed for all the conventional configurations such as, series-parallel, bridge-link, honeycomb, and total cross-tied connections to mitigate the shading effects. The proposed approach is tested on a 6 x 6 Solar Photo-Voltaic (SPV) array for different groups of shading conditions. The results are simulated through MATLAB/Simulink and validated through hardware prototype using artificial shade blockers and the results show a good improvement in the diagnosis of output parameters for all the reconfiguration techniques in comparison with their initial configurations. Moreover, the disturbance caused in P-V characteristic curves by shading is eradicated by using this proposed technique.