Photovoltaic system protection
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- a plurality of solar cells, wherein the plurality of solar cells comprisesa first set of solar cells,a second set of solar cells, wherein the first and second sets of solar cells are first and second strings included in a same module and connected in series with one another;
a first control element configured to substantially disable a subset of the first set of solar cells in response to the first set of solar cells generating electricity at more than a first threshold voltage; and
a second control element configured to substantially disable a subset of the second set of solar cells in response to the second set of solar cells generating electricity at more than a second threshold voltage, wherein the first and second threshold voltages are based at least on an operating limit of an inverter coupled to the plurality of solar cells.
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Abstract
A method includes measuring one or more performance metrics of a set of solar cells coupled to an inverter. Based at least on the performance metrics meeting a first criterion, a first subset of the set of solar cells are disabled, reducing a voltage, power, or current provided to the inverter. Based at least on the performance metrics meeting a second criterion, a second subset of the set of solar cells are disabled, further reducing a voltage, power, or current provided to the inverter.
10 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a plurality of solar cells, wherein the plurality of solar cells comprises a first set of solar cells, a second set of solar cells, wherein the first and second sets of solar cells are first and second strings included in a same module and connected in series with one another; a first control element configured to substantially disable a subset of the first set of solar cells in response to the first set of solar cells generating electricity at more than a first threshold voltage; and a second control element configured to substantially disable a subset of the second set of solar cells in response to the second set of solar cells generating electricity at more than a second threshold voltage, wherein the first and second threshold voltages are based at least on an operating limit of an inverter coupled to the plurality of solar cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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measuring one or more performance metrics of a set of solar cells coupled to at least one inverter; based at least on the performance metrics meeting a first criterion, disabling a first subset of the set of solar cells; and based at least on the performance metrics meeting a second criterion, disabling a second subset of the set of solar cells, wherein the first and second subsets of solar cells are first and second strings included in a same module and connected in series with one another. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A control system comprising:
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an input configured to receive one or more performance metrics of a set of solar cells coupled to at least one inverter; and a processor configured to evaluate the performance metrics, based at least on the performance metrics meeting a first criterion, disable a first subset of the set of solar cells, and based at least on the performance metrics meeting a second criterion, disable a second subset of the set of solar cells, wherein the first and second sets of solar cells are first and second strings included in a same module and connected in series with one another.
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Specification