Evaluation of power losses in a short string of series-connected and parallel-connected photovoltaic modules for low power application

The operation of Photovoltaic (PV) generator is highly influenced when it is prone to partial shading. This paper examines the performance of a photovoltaic array under different partial shading conditions. The mismatch losses and the power losses due to the failure in tracking of the global maximum power point (GMPP) of a series string of three modules with bypass diodes and short parallel string with the same configuration are analysed. Results show that there is considerable power loss due to shading in a long string under different shading conditions and the number of series connections are to be minimized.