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Title: 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 Lab. (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
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: 2013 Aug 29
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (6)

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
Solar module array with reconfigurable tile patent February 2002
Voltage bus regulation circuit patent January 2003
System for controlling power from a photovoltaic array by selectively configurating connections between photovoltaic panels patent February 2012
Switching Circuits For Extracting Power From An Electric Power Source And Associated Methods patent-application February 2012