Effect of Partial Shading on a PV System

Abstract

Lately, photovoltaic (PV) systems have been expanding rapidly. However, this growing technology still faces challenges regarding its efficiency, which is hugely affected by various factors such as the changing weather and partial shading conditions. Notably, partial shading stands out as a critical operational challenge, not only diminishing module efficiency but also posing a risk of hot spots that can result in substantial damage to solar cells/modules. To prevent this, bypass diodes are used. In general, under partial shading conditions, the characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) systems become increasingly intricate, featuring multiple peaks. Our study specifically delves into the shading influence on PV modules. This paper utilizes MATLAB/Simulink software to analyze the occurrence of multiple peaks in the power output caused by shading of PV cells. The maximum power degradation resulting from partial shading was depicted in Simulink and then compared to experimental data and simulation results from certain previous studies in the literature. Through this paper, we present an illustrative exploration of the partial shading concept.