Probabilistic Modeling of Partial Shading of Photovoltaic Arrays

Abstract EN

The probabilistic modeling technique is used in this paper to ascertain the performance of energy conversion of a photovoltaic (PV) array under the influence of partial shading.

Three cases of increasing complexity are studied in this paper.

The first case is to find the probability density function (pdf) of the maximum power output (MPO) of a single PV module exposed to a random level of solar irradiance.

Given that the probability distribution of solar irradiance is known a priori, the pdf of the MPO of the PV module is derived analytically.

A Monte Carlo simulation is then conducted to validate the analysis.

This is followed in the second case by studying the MPO of an array composed of two series PV modules, each exposed to a random and independent level of irradiance.

The third case further involves the effects of bypass diodes which are commonly installed to reduce partial shading losses.