Real-Time Reconfiguration of PV Arrays and Control Strategy Using Minimum Number of Sensors and Switches

Wing Kong Ng () and Nesimi Ertugrul
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Wing Kong Ng: School for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
Nesimi Ertugrul: School for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: This paper presents a reconfigurable switching circuit and control methodology for mitigating power losses in photovoltaic (PV) systems under partial shading. The proposed hardware uses a simplified network of power MOSFETs and diodes to enable dynamic reconfiguration between series and parallel connections, improving energy yield with minimal conduction losses. Unlike conventional approaches that require irradiance measurements or extensive sensing, the control algorithm uses only per-module voltage and a single-current measurement to detect shading events in real time. A novel switching strategy reduces the number of actively controlled transistors, simplifying the control circuitry and reducing power dissipation. Both simulation and experimental results validate the method. Simulations of a 4-module PV system showed maximum power point (MPP) increases from 900 W to over 1100 W and from 460 W to 900 W, with full recovery to 1500 W after shading removal. Experimental verification on a 3-module setup under controlled shading yielded similar improvements: MPP increased from 38.4 W to 45.6 W and from 38.4 W to 45.8 W. These results demonstrate rapid adaptability, effective mismatch loss reduction, and maximisation of available power, making the proposed design a practical and low-overhead solution for commercial PV systems with non-uniform irradiance.

Keywords: partial shading; photovoltaic; photovoltaic module; connection reconfiguration; MPPT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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