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Dynamically reconfigurable photovoltaic system

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1255127

A PV system composed of sub-arrays, each having a group of PV cells that are electrically connected to each other. A power management circuit for each sub-array has a communications interface and serves to connect or disconnect the sub-array to a programmable power grid. The power grid has bus rows and bus columns. A bus management circuit is positioned at a respective junction of a bus column and a bus row and is programmable through its communication interface to connect or disconnect a power path in the grid. As a result, selected sub-arrays are connected by selected power paths to be in parallel so as to produce a low system voltage, and, alternately in series so as to produce a high system voltage that is greater than the low voltage by at least a factor of ten.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
Assignee:
Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM
Patent Number(s):
9,356,173
Application Number:
14/014,266
OSTI ID:
1255127
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (2)

Near-optimal, dynamic module reconfiguration in a photovoltaic system to combat partial shading effects conference January 2012
Generation control circuit for photovoltaic modules journal May 2001

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