Photovoltaic-battery scheme to enhance PV array characteristics in partial shading conditions

Photovoltaic (PV) arrays may be shaded by neighbouring buildings, power lines, trees, clouds, birds, grass and so on. This study begins by discussing the effects of partial shading on PV arrays characteristics and efficiency. It also provides a comparative literature review on methods used to mitigate these effects. Afterwards, this study proposes a novel unit called shading compensation unit (SCU). SCU is intended to alter the P-V characteristics of partially shaded arrays to become closer to these of non-shaded ones. Simulations are carried out using MATLAB/Simulink for different shading conditions and temperatures. The results show that SCUs enhance the maximum power of partially shaded arrays by 5-58%. Furthermore, maximum power of partially shaded arrays after adding SCUs is within 85-97% of an unshaded array (without SCUs) which significantly reduces intermittency of PV generation.