Search results for " photovoltaic"
showing 10 items of 242 documents
Manufacturing tolerances effects on PV array energy production
2014
This paper investigates the tolerance effects of commercial photovoltaic modules in terms of electrical energy reduction of photovoltaic plants. Several commercial modules, having the same rated power, present different power tolerance values. A wide tolerance is an indicator of possible defects or differences in the production process and is responsible of remarkable reductions in the electricity production of photovoltaic plants. In this paper, thanks to the development of a suitable simulation tool, several simulations have been carried out, considering different tolerance and shading conditions for the PV array. Simulation results quantify the peak power value of the different plant con…
Optimization of photovoltaic energy production through an efficient switching matrix
2013
This work presents a preliminary study on the implementation of a new system for power output maximization of photovoltaic generators under non-homogeneous conditions. The study evaluates the performance of an efficient switching matrix and the relevant automatic reconfiguration control algorithms. The switching matrix is installed between the PV generator and the inverter, allowing a large number of possible module configurations. PV generator, switching matrix and the intelligent controller have been simulated in Simulink. The proposed reconfiguration system improved the energy extracted by the PV generator under non-uniform solar irradiation conditions. Short calculation times of the pro…
Economic evaluation of PV system for EV charging stations: Comparison between matching maximum orientation and storage system employment
2016
This article addresses the problem of the choice of a generation system to be implemented to reduce the impact of charging electric vehicles at University. Based on the behaviour of the student population, it is identified the electrical load. Two possible solutions are evaluated in order to manage the peak load: an orientation of the panels in order to increase the power at defined time and the use of storage system. The main strength and weakness points of two systems are investigated by taking into account the Levelized Cost of Energy.
Economic analysis on dynamic photovoltaic systems in new Italian “feed in tariffs” context
2013
Dynamic photovoltaic generators, based on the application of solar-trackers, are able to give an increment to the electric energy production from solar source. Their realization and maintenance costs are certainly higher than those of fixed ones. In this paper the Authors propose a method to estimate the increment of electrical energy generation that must be guaranteed by a dynamic photovoltaic generator, so as its realization could be more favorable with respect to that of a fixed generator one with the same rated power. This method, developed by means of classical economic indexes like the Pay-Back-Period and the Net Present Value, takes in to account the economic incentives for the PV sy…
Photovoltaic based active generator: Energy control system using stateflow analysis
2015
At present, most of the grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems are operating at maximum power points and injecting power in uncontrolled way. Thus, active generator will be a good solution to support instantaneous power balance, frequency control and maintaining the power quality with controllable power injection. This new mode of active generator needs innovative power management. The new proposed energy control system for active generator might help to manage the energy within the micro-grid environment. In this work, the focus is to manage the energy among the PV based active generator, load and interconnected grid and energy controller architecture for that purpose is presented. It co…
A new modified Inc-Cond MPPT technique and its testing in a whole PV simulator under PSC
2015
In this paper a new modified Inc-Cond MPPT technique able to lead PV plants to work in the real MPP (Maximum Power Point) under PSC (Partial Shading Condition) is proposed. The new Inc-Cond MPPT technique working principle is fully explained, discussed and then successfully tested in a whole and reliable PV simulator conceived and set-up by the Authors in order to test and compare several new MPPT algorithms. The simulation results show that the proposed Inc-Cond MPPT technique is able to successfully lead the PV plant to work in the real MPP both in the cases of instantaneous and gradual changing of shading and of temperature conditions.
Performance of the Glass Block in Photovoltaic Generation
2015
In this article is presented the preliminary evaluation of the performance of radiation transmission of glass block, used in support of photovoltaic cells, investigating different internal surface points of the block, which are subject to different shading during daylight hours. The aim is to establish how the edging setting, the only opaque element, can reduce the amount of light radiation during the day, introducing in this way a reduction of efficiency of the entire generation system. The generation system can be based on traditional photovoltaic cells or on the most suitable dye sensitized solar cells. An experimental measurement setup employing a microprocessor-based instrument has bee…
CIGS PV Module Characteristic Curves Under Chemical Composition and Thickness Variations
2014
This paper analyzes how the electrical characteristics of a CIGS photovoltaic module are affected by the chemical composition and by the thickness variations of the CIGS absorber. The electrical characteristics here considered are the short circuit current, the open circuit voltage, the efficiency and the power peak. The chemical composition is varied by tuning the ratio between gallium and indium. This analysis has been performed by means of the wxAMPS software, developed by the University of Illinois. The above variations have been taken into account on a PV module made of 72 cells. This analysis has been carried out employing a PV module mathematical model developed and implemented by th…
On-grid residential development with photovoltaic systems in Southern Norway
2013
The application of residential photovoltaic (PV) systems is increasing rapidly worldwide. In Southern Norway, a group of on-grid smart houses with embedded PV systems, solar thermal collectors, and geothermal heat pumps are under development at Skarpnes. In this paper, performance analysis based on simulations of an on-grid residential house with PV system located at Skarpnes is presented. This project is expected to demonstrate zero energy and zero emission housing in Norway. This paper discusses a theoretical study of home energy consumption with electricity production for a single house from a PV system, including simulations of irradiation conditions and tilt angles, and of the PV syste…
Economic benefits of the use of a PV plants reconfiguration systems
2015
This paper shows the economic convenience of the application of a reconfiguration system for photovoltaic plants, considering the incentives system in different Countries. The reconfiguration is an alternative to the Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking, DMPPT, technique used to overcome the mismatch problem in Photovoltaic, PV, plants. The reconfiguration techniques employ a microprocessor-based system that modifies the layout of the PV plant by physically changing the connections among modules. After having presented the working principle of the PV reconfiguration system allowing the improvement of the efficiency of the same plant and the relevant installation, the main strength and w…