Improved Optimization Strategy for Irradiance Equalization in Dynamic Photovoltaic Arrays

This paper proposes an improved strategy for the optimization of dynamic photovoltaic arrays (DPVAs) utilizing the “irradiance equalization” (IEq) reconfiguration strategy. This type of reconfigurable array is already very robust as it amalgamates the flexibility of dynamic reconfiguration with the averaging ability of total cross-tied array architecture. This paper identifies four areas to further increase the power yield and significantly reduce the time for a return on investment. Results indicate potential efficiency improvements of more than 10% in some cases, and between 4% and 10% across a number of random and abrupt shading conditions. As in any DPVA system, the proposed approaches require additional hardware and advanced control algorithms compared to a static PV array, but anyone implementing a dynamic array has already committed themselves to including the majority of this infrastructure. This investigation supports the idea of a fully dynamic IEq-DPVA with the ability to resize its array dimensions while implementing a rapid sorting algorithm based on information gathered using a novel precision irradiance profiling technique.