Performance of partially shaded photovoltaic array configurations under shade dispersion

Photovoltaic (PV) arrays which are prone to partial shading lessen the energy output of PV systems and the arrays exhibit multiple peaks in the Power-Voltage (P-V) characteristics. This paper investigates the performance of various photovoltaic array configurations under shade dispersion to improve the generated power from the array, under partial shading conditions. In the rearranged configurations the physical position of the modules are organized based on the "Su Do Ku" puzzle pattern so as to scatter the shading effect over the entire array. The performance of the system is investigated for five different configurations and the study shows that re positioning the modules of the array in accordance with "Su Do Ku" puzzle pattern yields better performance for considered four configurations under partially shaded conditions. A new configuration namely `Ladder' (LDR) is proposed here which is a modified form of Total Cross Tied (TCT), with lesser number of cross ties than TCT.

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