Integrated PV Panel with Sectional MPPT and DC-DC Converters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Photovoltaic (PV) panels often deliver less than optimum power due to voltage mismatch with battery charging voltages and shading effects, which limit current production and vary with temperature and illumination conditions, leading to inefficiencies in energy transfer.
Innovation Solution
An integrated photovoltaic panel with an embedded DC-DC converter circuit and MPPT control unit, featuring a transparent substrate with PV devices and laminating material, allows for optimized power transfer by adjusting switching devices and using parasitic inductance or shared inductance to manage output voltage and current across sections, even under shading conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If PV cells are connected in series to provide sufficient battery charging voltage at high temperatures, then the panel can maintain adequate voltage for battery charging, but the cell count becomes excessive at low temperatures where PV cells produce their best output voltage, leading to voltage mismatch and power loss
Solution Approach 1:
The PV panel is divided into multiple independent sections, each with its own DC-DC converter circuit. This segmentation allows each section to independently manage its voltage and power output, enabling the system to optimize performance across different temperature conditions without requiring excessive series-connected cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control circuits that dynamically adjust operating parameters (voltage and current) based on temperature and illumination conditions. This allows the system to adapt to varying environmental conditions and maintain optimal power transfer efficiency across different temperature ranges.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the output current of a series string of PV cells is limited by the weakest or most shaded cell, then the series connection maintains current consistency, but un-shaded cells in the same series string yield substantially less power than they are otherwise capable of
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the PV panel into separate sections with independent DC-DC converters, the patent allows each section to operate independently. This means that shaded cells in one section do not limit the power output of un-shaded cells in other sections, as each section can optimize its own current and voltage independently through MPPT control.
Solution Approach 2:
The DC-DC converter circuits act as intermediary devices between the PV cells and the load. These converters can handle current variations and ensure that the output current is regulated independently for each section, preventing the weakest cell from limiting the overall system performance.
3Power
If MPPT devices are separate devices wired between PV panels and the load, then the control circuitry can find and maintain maximum power output voltage, but the system complexity and wiring requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the DC-DC converter circuits and MPPT control units directly within the PV panel structure. This merging of functions eliminates the need for separate external MPPT devices and reduces wiring requirements, as the power conversion and maximum power point tracking are performed in-place at each panel section.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated DC-DC converter circuits perform multiple functions: power conversion, maximum power point tracking, and voltage regulation. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components and simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining the ability to extract maximum power from the PV cells.
4Temperature
If typical PV panels are temperature sensitive and require sufficient cells in series to provide battery charging voltage at high temperatures, then the panel can ensure adequate voltage for charging, but additional losses occur when cells generate less current due to temperature and illumination variations
Solution Approach 1:
The MPPT control circuits continuously monitor and adjust operating parameters to compensate for temperature and illumination variations. This dynamic parameter adjustment allows the system to maintain optimal current and voltage levels despite environmental changes, reducing power losses while ensuring adequate charging voltage.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated control circuits employ feedback mechanisms to monitor output voltage and current, and adjust the DC-DC converter operation accordingly. This feedback control ensures that the panel maintains stable voltage for battery charging while minimizing energy losses from current variations caused by temperature and illumination changes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the output capacity of PV panels by maintaining power transfer efficiency even when parts of the panel are shaded, optimizing energy conversion and reducing losses from voltage mismatch and temperature variations.
Implementation Method 1
The converter also has a control unit adapted to control switching of the first switching device
Implementation Method 2
at least one PV device feeds the DC-DC converter
Implementation Method 3
A laminating material seals the first PV device and the first converter circuit to the transparent substrate
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated photovoltaic panel has one or more integral DC-DC converter circuits. The DC-DC converter input port couples to a section of at least one photovoltaic (PV) device of the panel separate from PV devices feeding other converters. The converter has an MPPT controller for operating the converter to transfer maximum power from coupled photovoltaic devices to its output port. The PV panel has a transparent substrate to which PV devices are mounted. A laminating material seals PV devices and converters to the substrate. In embodiments, the panel has multiple converters connected with output ports in series. The integrated PV panel provides summed maximum powers of each section of PV devices. In some embodiments the DC-DC converters are complete with inductors, in other embodiments a common inductor is shared by multiple converters of the panel, in a particular embodiment the common inductor is parasitic inductance of the panel.