ABSTRACT
In photovoltaic power plant inspections, techniques for module assessment play a crucial role as they enhance fault detection and module characterization. One valuable technique is luminescence. The present paper introduces a novel technique termed passive luminescence. It enhances both electroluminescence and photoluminescence imaging acquisition in photovoltaic power plants under normal operation in high irradiance conditions. This technique is based on the development of an electronic board, which allows the polarity of the module to be changed, enabling the current generated by the photovoltaic string to be injected into the module and producing electroluminescence effects. Additionally, the board can bypass the module and set an open circuit, inducing photoluminescence emission using sunlight as an excitation source. The proper coordination of the board and an InGaAs camera with a bandpass filter has allowed for the integration of a lock-in technique, which has produced electroluminescence and photoluminescence pictures that can be used for fault detection.
ABSTRACT
Within this paper, a PLC system that takes advantage of the loop resonance of an entire DC-PV string configured as a circular signal path is developed and implemented. Low cost and extremely simple transceivers intended to be installed within each PV module of a string have been designed and successfully tested. In addition, an anti-saturation coil has been conceived to avoid saturation of the core when the entire DC current of the string flows through it. Bi-directional half-duplex communication was successfully executed with up to a 1 MHz carrier frequency (150 kbps bitrate), using a simple ASK modulation scheme. The transmission and reception performance are presented, along with the overall system cost in comparison to the previous literature.
