Analyses of the Effectiveness of Power Optimizers in Heterogeneous PV Plants

The number of photovoltaic (PV) plants integrated or applied in buildings is steadily growing. However, these installations often have complex geometries, resulting in strings of PV panels with varying orientations, partial shading, and different levels of sunlight exposure. These factors can cause a loss of power in the PV To maximize the amount of power produced by PV plants characterized by non-uniform operating conditions, it has become common practice to use power optimizers or microinverters. In this study, the energy analyses of different mock-ups of PV plants, constituted by different kinds of PV modules (mono, bifacial and PVT) installed at the University of Catania are presented. All the mock-ups are made up of different types of PV modules, such as mono, bifacial, and PVT, connected in series and linked to a single inverter. Each PV module or group of homogeneous PV modules is equipped with power optimizers. This allows them to operate at the Maximum Power Point (MPP) point. Moreover, the power generated by one PV module managed by power optimizers has been compared with the power generated at MPP, determined through an electronic load, which allows for tracking of the IV curve. Globally, the results of this research provide interesting observations on the performances and the monitoring of PV plants equipped with power optimizers, as well as verify the ability of the optimizers to effectively exploit the maximum power from the different components of the investigated PV mock-ups. The outcomes of this study may constitute a useful baseline for designers who foresee installing power optimizers in existing or new PV plants.