METHOD TO MANAGE A PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method of detecting a parameter in a solar panel array comprising:
- providing a first signal from a first solar panel to a remote entity;
the first solar panel being connected to a second solar panel;
providing a second signal from the second solar panel to the remote entity; and
inferring that at least one solar panel has been removed from the array when at least one of the first or second signal is interrupted to the remote entity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method relates to managing and controlling a photovoltaic system, especially for the safety, maintenance, alert of theft, and connection failure of the system. It is more specially for cases during the night time when the panel is not generating electricity. The present disclosure provides: an AC panel, an inverter; a communication circuit in a panel inverter to send and receive signals, a control circuit, a communicator and a power line communication method between communicator and panel inverters. The communicator detects an identification of each panel to identify the panels and collect data from each panel. The communicator is connected to the Internet through a web gateway. The apparatus also has a web based managing system to collect data from the communicator, as well as transmit signals to the communicator.
43 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a parameter in a solar panel array comprising:
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providing a first signal from a first solar panel to a remote entity; the first solar panel being connected to a second solar panel; providing a second signal from the second solar panel to the remote entity; and inferring that at least one solar panel has been removed from the array when at least one of the first or second signal is interrupted to the remote entity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for detecting a parameter of a solar panel array, the apparatus comprising:
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a first solar panel providing a first signal from the first solar panel to a remote entity; the first solar panel being connected to a second solar panel; the second solar panel providing a second signal from the second solar panel to the remote entity; and a device being connected to the first and the second solar panels, the device inferring that at least one solar panel has been removed from the array when at least one of the first or second signal is interrupted to the device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of safely shutting down operation of a solar panel array comprising:
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providing a first solar panel being connected to a first inverter, the first inverter comprising at least one of a control circuit, a power conversion circuit, a monitoring circuit and a communication circuit; providing a second solar panel being connected to a second inverter, the second inverter comprising at least one of the control circuit, the power conversion circuit, the monitoring circuit and the communication circuit; providing a managing system being connected to the first and the second solar panels; and controlling at least one component of the first or the second inverter to shut down operation of the solar panel array.
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29. A safety device comprising:
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a first solar panel being connected to a first inverter, the first inverter comprising at least one of a control circuit, a power conversion circuit, a monitoring circuit and a communication circuit; a second solar panel being connected to a second inverter, the second inverter comprising at least one of the control circuit, the power conversion circuit, the monitoring circuit and the communication circuit; a managing system being connected to the first and the second solar panels; and the managing system controlling at least one component of the first or the second inverter to shut down operation of the solar panel array.
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30. An inverter comprising:
a control circuit, a power conversion circuit, a monitoring circuit and a communication circuit, the communication circuit providing a signal to a remote entity, wherein the remote entity infers a condition when the signal is interrupted.
Specification