An efficient algorithm to simulate the electrical performance of solar photovoltaic arrays

An efficient algorithm to simulate the performance of solar photovoltaic arrays is developed. The algorithm uses the linear programming technique and minimizes the current across each junction of the array to the order of 10(-5). It offers an explicit advantage of execution time for the simulation of large array networks including such interconnected configurations as TCT (Total-Cross-Tied) and BL (Bridge-Linked) configurations. Numerical computations are carried out to investigate the fault-tolerance in field conditions of the simple series-parallel, total-crossed-tied and bridge-linked solar cell interconnection configurations. Results show that the cross-tied arrays (BL and TCT) are comparatively less susceptible to electrical mismatches. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.