Photovoltaic Panel Diagnostic Module for Maximum Power Point Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current photovoltaic solar installations lack the ability to individually diagnose and manage each solar panel, leading to inefficient maintenance, potential underperformance due to incorrect configuration, and production losses, as existing systems cannot distinguish between local and overall maximum power points, requiring manual and labor-intensive processes.
Innovation Solution
A diagnostic module for each photovoltaic panel that performs autonomous voltage and current measurements, sends data to a central system, and can optimize power management, including conversion of direct voltage to alternating voltage, enabling individual panel supervision and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual supervision of each panel is performed, then detailed panel-level information can be obtained, but the process is labor-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Each photovoltaic panel is equipped with an autonomous diagnostic module that automatically performs measurements and self-diagnosis without requiring manual intervention. The module independently collects electrical parameters, processes data, and communicates results, enabling the system to serve itself and eliminating the need for labor-intensive manual verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection processes with automated electronic measurement and communication systems. Diagnostic modules use electronic sensors and processors to automatically monitor panel performance, substituting human operators with automated electronic systems that continuously collect and analyze data without physical contact or manual labor.
2Power
If panels are connected in series to increase power output, then overall production increases, but diagnosis of individual panel condition becomes complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the photovoltaic installation into independent diagnostic units, with each panel having its own diagnostic module. This segmentation allows individual panel monitoring within series connections, where each module independently measures and reports its panel's electrical characteristics, maintaining diagnostic simplicity despite increased system power through series configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
Diagnostic modules serve as intermediary devices between individual panels and the central control system. Each module independently processes electrical signals from its associated panel, performs local analysis, and communicates results through standardized protocols, simplifying the overall diagnosis architecture even when many panels are connected in series.
3Device complexity
If a single DC/AC inverter manages multiple panels, then system consolidation is achieved, but individual panel optimization at maximum power point is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality optimization by enabling each diagnostic module to independently determine and track the maximum power point for its specific panel based on local electrical characteristics and environmental conditions. This allows each panel to operate at its optimal performance point while remaining connected to the consolidated DC/AC inverter system, achieving both consolidation and individual optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
Diagnostic modules continuously monitor electrical parameters and provide feedback about each panel's performance status and maximum power point conditions to the control system. This feedback mechanism enables real-time optimization of individual panel operation within the consolidated system, allowing the inverter to adjust operating parameters based on detailed panel-level information without requiring separate inverters for each panel.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a module for the diagnosis of a single photovoltaic panel, which comprises a first connection for input wiring coming from a photovoltaic solar panel, a second connection for output wiring through which at least the energy from the photovoltaic panel exits, a measurement means for measuring the voltage and current coming from the photovoltaic solar panel, through input wiring coming from a photovoltaic panel, a control logic and communication means. Thanks to this module associated with each of the panels, it is possible to avoid manual supervision of each and every one of the panels, to eliminate the impossibility of detecting malfunctioning or operation outside the maximum power point of the panels, to overcome the difficulty in evacuating the direct current and to avoid production and efficiency losses of the photovoltaic solar installations.