Dynamic reconfiguration of electrical connections for partially shaded PV modules: Technical and economical performances of an Arduino-based prototype

The partial shading phenomenon is a well known problem of photovoltaic plants. Partial shading leads toundesirable effects such the electrical mismatch, the generation of hot spots, and generally the decrease of production ofelectric energy. To mitigate the last effect, a dynamic reconfiguration of the electrical connections between modules was takeninto account. In this paper, starting from an already developed system for a small-scale photovoltaic plant reconfiguration, thestudy of the economical benefits of the employment of a reconfigurator are traced. Five different incentive policies of diverseCountries have been considered to evaluate the increase of Net Present Value of system with and without a reconfigurator.