International Journal of Engineering Works

ISSN-p: 2521-2419
ISSN-e: 2409-2770
Vol. 6, Issue 05, PP. 148-152, May 2019
https://www.ijew.io/
DOI:10.34259/ijew.19.605148152

Techniques to Mitigate Problem of Partial Shading and Soiling on PV

Module: A Review
Aemal Ahmad1*, Muhammad Arif Khattak2, Muhammad Zeeshan3, Muhammad Salman4, Kamran Alam5
1,2,3,4,5
U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), University of Engineering and Technology
Peshawar, Pakistan
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Received: 09 April, Revised: 17 April, Accepted: 24 April

Abstract— Power output of a pv module strongly depends on trees,dust, birds’ droppings that blocks sunlight from equally
the irradiance it receives. There are many factors which limit falling on every module or even each cell in a same module.
this irradiance and badly effect power output of solar PV Single PV cell when receives solar irradiance give current and
module. The most prominent are soiling and shading due to voltage. At temperature of 25oC and 1.5 AM illuminations
surrounding environment. The most damaging one is the single silicon solar cell give 0.5 to 0.6 V across its two
exposure of different cells to different irradiances which is terminals. [1]. All the application involving electricity
called partial shading. The subject of partial shedding and its consumption required a voltage higher than one cell can
effects on Photo Voltaic (PV) system are receiving much provide. However, it can be made useful if many such cells are
attention of researchers. In order to model PV system in such cascaded together in series and parallel configuration based on
conditions, and design a PV system that is immune and tolerant the need and demand of required load and application. In order
to the problem being addressed, several research articles have to optimize the performance of pv module cells need to be
been reviewed in this study. Different techniques have been electrically matched with same currents and voltages across
summarized and briefly described here, giving an insight to each cell terminal for both series and parallel combinations [2].
model PV system and mitigate the problem, with different Even if diligence is practiced in connecting the cells together
tested configurations that are more effective in such conditions. still the problem exists if different cells receive different
intensity of lights. If all the cells receive equal intensity light
Keywords— Shading, Optical losses, Solar PV. then no such problem arise but that is the ideal condition which
is not always the case. In a situation when sunlight is blocked
from a cell or group of cells then hotspot is created. Such cells
start acting as a load thereby consuming some power from
I. INTRODUCTION nearby cells. This can further aggravate the problem by heating
There has been a tremendous shift from Carbon fuels those cells which receive little or no sunlight and thus limiting
consumptions to renewable energy which is environmentally the power from those cells which receive enough sunlight and
friendly. This give a top spot to solar energy in today’s widely thus causing partial shading to happen.
used renewable energy sources, which is abundant, free and of
`Power output of the whole PV system is reduced when
extremely large potential. Transformation of this solar energy
system is exposed to partial shading. It is hard to track the
could be done in many ways but the most user friendly and
absolute maximum power point when partial shading causes
affordable solution is photovoltaic systems. Photovoltaic
the system to detect many local maximum power points. Such
modules used for this purpose can be managed easily and the
shortcomings make the need to bring immunity in PV system
end user is able to extract power of it by installing and
more important in order to improve the power output of such
managing simply without a lot to worry about maintenance.
systems. Such design needs to disconnect those cells that
Whereas harnessing from other renewable energy sources
receive lesser light in order to avoid those cells from limiting
involve complex systems that need an organized structure and
their power that generate enough power if isolated from shaded
deep knowledge to interact with such systems.
cells. This will bring extra safety feature to the PV module by
With the advent of latest inverter technology local saving module from heating up too high. This is the common
consumer is able to connect its solar PV system to grid and objective to mitigate partial shading problem which can be
thus can sell extra power to power utility companies. This achieved through number of techniques. However, all
benefit has increased PV system penetration in both rural as techniques follow the same basic rule to bypass these shaded
well as urban areas. Limited and costly lands in urban area cells.
result in too densely located houses and offices with PV
The first step is to model the PV system properly and then
modules on their roof top very nearly placed. Such
predict the shading patterns the module or group of modules is
environment is surrounded with tall buildings, chimneys,

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unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
exposed to. Then bypassing those shaded cells are of much
importance through bypassing devices by keeping power loses
in these devices to the minimum. These cells can be bypassed
in number of ways. The use of bypass diodes has attracted
quite attention and that’s why all commercially available
modules practice this technique [3].
This paper investigates and reviews different techniques,
modelling of cells and modules, different shading conditions,
effectiveness of different techniques against different shades.
In Section 2 circuit modeling has been discussed and also a
brief overview of the tools and software’s used by different
studies. Section 3 analyses different studies done by different
researchers and their contributions to mitigate the problem of
partial shading.
Figure 1. Solar Cell equivalent Circuit
II. CIRCUIT MODLING
In order to model PV circuit first single PV cell is modeled III. TECHNIQUES TO OVERCOME SHADING
either with single or two diode model. A set of equations is Number of techniques are currently being studied in order
used to model behavior of single PV cell and different elements to solve the problem of partial shading. The most prominent
of basic electrical circuits, such as resistors in series and and prolific one is the use of bypass diode. In such technique
parallel and diodes are used. The easiest way is to model cell diodes are connecting across a cell or group of cells called
with single diode as it almost gives nearly same responses as strings and bypass them when they no more generate power or
two diode model could provide with ease and simplicity in its generate less power than other strings in the same modules [3].
design [2] [4] [5]. Series Rs and Shunt resistance Rp is also Integrated diode in each cell is also used by [11]. Evidently,
included in the model by most studies to consider the losses literature has also some studies which consider that bypassing
attached to them. The equivalent circuit of PV cell can be seen of shaded cells can be done if cell junction breakdown voltage
in Figure.1 [2]. Where Jphoto , Jdark represent photocurrent is controlled and reduced having the same effect as of bypass
and saturation current density respectively. Vout represents diodes [2]. Application of Power MOS Switches with cool
cell’s terminal voltage. bypass switch (CBS) is also proposed as can be seen in the
In order to meet current and voltage requirements modules study carried out by [12] bringing power losses from 4W to
are formed by interconnecting these cells in series and parallel few mWs by replacing Schottky diode with these CBS
fashions. switches. Series parallel paths in a module can enhance
immunity against partial shading, such claim is proved by a
1 represent the principle equation of fig 1 as mentioned by study in which full and halved cells are compared [13].
[5] is:
[14] studies shading’s effects for photovoltaic (PV)
Jout=Jphoto– Jsat {exp[q (V+JoutRs)/nkT]–1} – V + JoutRs/Rsh (1) module and photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) where simulation has
been done with LTspice and then results are validated with
q Represents electronic charge 1.6×10-19 C experimental study, Solarus AB module is studied and
k is Boltzmann constant = 1.38×10-23 J/K investigated for this purpose. Temperature affects maximum
power Pmax , maximum voltage Vmax and open circuit
T the cell temperature in K voltage Voc greatly whereas temperature affects maximum
In order to make such study easier simulations has been current Imax and short circuit current Isc little when it is prone
preferred because it saves time with the ease to simulate the more to irradiance[14]. [15] studies different shading patterns
varying uncontrolled environmental conditions of different for a single cell experimentally. The same study suggests that
temperatures and irradiances. Further, such simulation monocrystalline module is not as much affected by partial
software’s can enhance the study by observing different shades shading as do multi crystalline silicon cells [15].
patterns. Different tools have been used in different studies: For an array having many connected modules in series, if a
[5]–[8] uses LTspice, some authors have used Pspice [6], [7], cell or number of cells get shaded then the power output will
Matlab and Simulink is also used to study PV cells [8], few depend on string size. Otherwise, the shaded cell will dissipate
studies prefer Python for simulation when these modules are nearly twice the power produced by module if it is not
exposed to different shading condition[9], [10] bypassed with diode or any other bypassing device [16]. For
every 1 A decrease in current for each cell, maximum power
reduced by 0.4 W with a decrease in Voc and temperature rise
for all shading conditions [7]. Power decreases by 11-12%
when there is a rise of 25o C in temperature [7]. When a cell is
completely shaded, then module with more bypass diodes is
more efficient then the one having little number of diodes [17].

International Journal of Engineering Works Vol. 6, Issue 05, PP. 148-152, May 2019
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However, number of diodes is not always immunity measuring [20] explains the minimum distance and tilt angle that is
factor i.e. when part of a module is shaded by a constantly needed among PV modules in an array as shown in fig 3 in
moving shadow of certain pattern, then efforts are needed to order to avoid shade of one row over another.
configure bypass diodes in effective way [17]. The best
practice is to consider a diode configuration that is more shade
resilient for a shade pattern already known and can be
predicted. In [7], bypass diodes and blocking diodes’ effects
has been studied for an array with 3 rows and 20 modules in
total when subjected to four different shading patterns.
In [4] effects a module with single and multiple shaded
cells has been investigated, and IV curves are studied after Figure 3. Reprensentation in row arrangement
exposing cells to shading and changes in IV curves are noted.
[4] is used by author to diagnose fault in PV power generating W = row active width
system. Therefore, those primary factors can be observed
which contribute to these losses upon observing the changes β = plane tilt angle
that occur in characteristics of IV curves [4]. Another study
P= pitch between rows.
suggested by [18] is “hotspot prevention technique” in order to
detect faults in case of partial shading. “Active fault tolerant LimAngle = ArcTan (W · cos β / (P – sin β))
control” can also be used to detect faults by observing and
detecting closely positive peaks, and the contribution of non- Occupation ratio = OR = W / P
uniform shadow in appearance of hotspot [18]. Occupation ratio does not depend on limit angle; it
depends on tilt angle though [20].
In fig 4 comparison of different shadows can be seen on
full and half cells. It is proved by [13] that 72 cells module is
not affected by direction of shading. However, halved cells’
module has improved result for shade moving vertically but
this same module performance is exacarbated for shade that
moves in X-direction [13]. Another such study uses half cells
which shows that short circuit current increases to 3% and fill
Figure 2. Equivalent circuit of PV module with two bypass diodes. (a)Non-
overlapped cells (b) overlapped cells factor increases to nearly 1.48 percent while a decrease in
losses has been noted from 8W to 2W due to decrease in series
In [19] PV cells and modules are modeled and simulated resistance value [21]. Furthermore, this study suggests use of
with PSPICE and then impacts on these designs are noted for single bypass diode across two strings of half cells [21]. The
different possible configurations of bypass diodes. Simulation direction of moving shade has no such impact on module of
results are compared with experimental result in [19]. In the standard cells [21]. However, half cells’ module shows
same study two bypass diodes’ model has been compared for different behaviour to vertical and horizontal shade with better
36 cells: One with overlapping cells and another without immunit for horizontal shades [21]. Half-cells module have the
overlapping cells as shown in fig 2 [19]. Different observations potential of minimizing losses due to shading to 50 percent at
have been made, for single and two shaded cells with partial shading condition[21].
overlapping and non-overlapping diodes [19]. Such study is
useful in deciding an optimized configuration of bypass diodes,
an expression has also been proposed that can help in deciding
number of cells that could be protected by single bypass diode
[19].
In [11], shading patterns has been observed for two types
of cell structures: Type A and Type B. Type A has diode
integrated in its cell while type B does not have such integrated
diode. The tolerance of both types is experimentally quantified. Figure 4. Effect of shadow on Full and Halved cells from two directions: (a)
When single cell is shaded with less than 10% shade, both X direction (b) Y direction
types almost perform in similar way [11]. As shading keep on
increasing Type A perform better and more resilient to shade PV industry has categorized Cells into two different
i.e. 50% shading of a single cell contribute 40 % loss in type B categories according to reverse breakdown voltage: Type A
system while the same shading adds losses to only 4% in type and Type B. For type A, reverse breakdown voltage of cell is
B system [11]. For 100% shade, the losses in system A are 20 greater than maximum power point (MPP) of string, whereas
times lower than that of system B [11]. for Type B it is the other way [22]. In heavy shaded condition
type B does not perform good, such as illumination level of 0
W/m2 [22]. Type A also perform worst for illumination level
equal to MPP power when it dissipates power equal to MPP

International Journal of Engineering Works Vol. 6, Issue 05, PP. 148-152, May 2019
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power [22]. The cell dissipate different power related to its AACKNOWLEDGMENT
breakdown voltage; for lower reverse breakdown voltage less The authors wish to thank the researchers whose literature
power is dissipated during mismatch. [22] experimenatlly has been cited in this article and author providing materials and
prove the effectiveness of “open circuit protection” based on experimental setups used in this study. Research leading to this
hotspot detection. article was supported by the research grants of U.S.-Pakistan
In [23], 52 different module cofingurations are studied Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E),
based on simulation for shading patterns that are static and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar,
predictable, for number of bypass diodes with many parallel Photovoltaic Reliability Lab (PRL ASU).
paths. For uniform illumination nearly each configuration
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International Journal of Engineering Works Vol. 6, Issue 05, PP. 148-152, May 2019
www.ijew.io