Search results for "PV Plant"
showing 10 items of 10 documents
A Low-cost, Real-time Monitoring System for PV Plants based on ATmega 328P-PU Microcontroller
2015
This paper presents a real-time monitoring system for PV power plants based on a microcontroller Atmega328P-PU. The proposed system, whose performances can be relatively close to those achieved with commercial monitoring systems, is simple, low-cost and open source technology-based. In addition, a user interface, capable to communicate through a wireless network by using a standard communication protocol IEEE 802.15.1, is here presented. From the experimental tests described and discussed in this paper it is demonstrated that the proposed monitoring system provides, with adequate accuracy, all the information about the operating status of the PV plant, even during fault conditions.
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…
Survey on power increase of power by employment of PV reconfigurator
2015
This paper shows the performance of a PV system under shadow projection on PV panels. The reconfiguration techniques, employing a microprocessor-based system, modifies the layout of the PV plant by physically changing the connections among modules, in order to recover the loss of power due to the shadows. Different cases have been considered to evaluate the increase of power.
Technical and economical comparison between different topologies of PV plant under mismatch effect
2014
This paper presents a technical and economical comparative analysis between two topology of photovoltaic plant. In particular the performances of series-parallel (SP) and total cross tied (TCT), topologies are taken into account, referring to a partially shaded photovoltaic plant. Thanks to a simulation model developed, in the paper the mismatch effects due to three different shading conditions, for SP and TCT topology plant, are quantified. Since the TCT solution, even though increase the energy production, raise the complexity of plants as well as their costs, an evaluation of the individual costs of each component of a SP and TCT plant topology, as PV modules, support structure, inverter…
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.
A PV plant simulator for testing MPPT techniques
2013
This paper introduces a versatile and reliable photovoltaic systems simulator. It includes the main components of a photovoltaic plant: a PV string and a PWM controlled boost chooper. The key feature of this simulator is the ability to consider different and non-uniform irradiation and temperature conditions (partial shading and partial heating of the strings). All the different I-V and P-V or P-I characteristics can then be determined in such non-uniform irradiation and temperature conditions, with the aim to try different MPPT algorithms. The simulator also allows to verify an enhanced version of the Incremental Conductance algorithm (IncCond) where, in order to reach the real absolute ma…
Empirical estimates of the radiative impact of an unusually extreme dust and wildfire episode on the performance of a photovoltaic plant in Western M…
2019
Abstract We have estimated the radiative impact produced by an unusually extreme dust and wildfire episode on the performance of a photovoltaic (PV) plant. The dust and wildfire events were mostly active on 26–28 and 29–30 June 2012, respectively. We took advantage of the consecutiveness of both events to separate and derive empirically the radiative effect of dust and smoke aerosols. With this purpose, we employed measurements of aerosol load, radiation and PV power output from a collocated atmospheric station and PV plant located at Burjassot (Valencia, Spain). The empirical estimates were obtained by direct comparison with a summer background day, happened right before the two consecutiv…
Dynamic reconfiguration systems for PV plant: Technical and economic analysis
2020
Solar plants suffer of partial shading and mismatch problems. Without considering the generation of hot spots and the resulting security issues, a monitoring system for the health of a PV plant should be useful to drive a dynamic reconfiguration system (DRS) to solve bottlenecks due to different panels’ shading. Over the years different DRS architectures have been proposed, but no suggestions about costs and benefits have been provided. Starting from technical subjects such as differences of the topologies driving the hardware complexity and number of components, this paper identifies the cost of DRS and its lifetime, and based on these issues it provides an economic analysis for a 6 kWp PV…
Photovoltaic plant array reconfiguration: Design of a new device
2014
An efficient strategy to improve unequally irradiated PV plants performances is based on the reconfiguration of the connections between the modules. In this paper, an algorithm, for this purpose conceived, is presented. Moreover, the design, realization and finally also the set up of a new reconfiguration system device is fully shown and discussed. The algorithm conceived simulates several possible series-parallel connections under varying irradiation conditions, and determines the optimal modules connection in order to get the maximum output power. In this way, the reconfiguration system may set up the reconfiguration strategy. The reconfiguration system prototype set up, basically consist…
An Optimization Device for Series Parallel Connected PV Plants
2017
In this paper it is presented a testing prototype of a reconfiguration system for photovoltaic (PV) plants. The system enables to increase the total energy output by reducing the electrical mismatch between the PV array modules. The architecture of the implemented switching matrix, performing the dynamic electrical interconnections of the PV panels, enables to reconfigure nine solar modules in a series-parallel (SP) configuration. The contribution is organized as follows. A brief state of the art is first presented, followed by a comparison between the SP and Total-Cross-Tied (TCT) connections. The prototype then is thoroughly described as well as the main design choices. Finally some tests…