Power electronic components and system installation for plug-and-play residential solar PV

Photovoltaic (PV) system installations in both residential and commercial sectors have increased rapidly throughout the world in the last decade primarily because of the technical advancements and hardware cost reduction. However, challenges remain in the installation and permitting process and the cost is not yet competitive enough for mass adoption. The focus has shifted in recent years to reduce the complexities of PV system installation and streamlining the permitting process. Hardware cost reduction has likely reached limits and only way to reduce cost further is through reduction in soft costs such as installation, permitting and inspection. This paper discusses the barriers in making the PV system Plug-and-Play (PnP) for residential applications, and then, presents a smart interface concept that includes a hardware between the grid and the PV panel and a web portal to bring together all the stake holders for simpler installation and commissioning. A study to evaluate how the commercially available inverters match with the proposed concept is also presented.