Optimisation method to find the best switch set topology for reconfiguration of photovoltaic panels

Abstract

This study presents an optimisation method to find the best switch set (SWS) topology for reconfiguration of photovoltaic (PV) panels. An approach based on particle swarm optimisation is used to find the optimised topology. In the optimisation, an objective function is defined, in which a minimum number of switches and maximum capability for realising different desired configurations are taken into account. Although the result is a SWS with the capability of reconfiguring PV panels in different series–parallel configurations, the algorithm can be extended for deriving different SWSs aimed to realise other configurations. Some experiments were carried out to validate the proposed approach. The results confirm that the optimised SWS not only can implement different desirable configurations with a minimum number of switches but also able to overcome different abnormal conditions by a suitable switching.