Fronius International GmbH

SHADING OF THE PV SYSTEM -

Froniusplatz 1, 4600 Wels EFFECTS AND MEASURES
AGENDA
/ Shading - possible causes & effects
/ What is the bypass diode for?
/ Integrated Fronius solution
/ Smart modules
/ Module optimizer
/ Summary

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SHADING CAN RESULT FROM:
Roof superstructures

Dirt
Snow

Chimneys

Trees

Cables

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Depending on the percentage of
shaded area and frequency of
occurrence, one can differentiate
between low, moderate or strong
shading.
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WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF SHADING?

LESS YIELD

LATER „RETURN ON
INVESTMENT“ (ROI)

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Fronius International GmbH / Verschattung der PV-Anlage - Auswirkungen und Maßnahmen
Good planning helps to
reduce the effects of
shading!
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WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS SHADING?

Effects on the entire string!

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CONNECTION OF THE SOLAR GENERATOR
Serial connection

Shaded module acts as

"bottleneck" for the entire string!

/ power and voltage increase

/ current remains equal
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 WHY DOES THE CURRENT DROP IN THE SHADED
MODULE?
short circuit current MPP (Maximum Power Point)
10,5
/ Module current is directly
9,0
proportional to the radiation.
/ Low irradiation, low current
module current [A]

7,5
E=800W/m²

6,0
E=600W/m²
- high irradiation, high current
/ Only minimum changes in voltage
4,5

at different irradiation levels.

3,0

1,5

9,0 18,0 27, 36,0 42,0

0 UMPP-area
module voltage [V]
Standard-Test-Conditions (STC): 25 °C open circuit voltage
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First basic rule:

Avoid shading as much as possible.

Especially at times of day with high irradiation.
• remove heavily shaded modules
• Intelligent system planning / design
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BYPASS DIODS
A STANDARD WITH EFFECTS AND PROFITS

/ If no shading existent:
/ Diode is inactive
/ If shading existent:
/ Diode is active
/ Effect:
/ Minimize losses
/ Module string is hardly affected
/ "Bottleneck effect" is minimized
/ Protects against damage to the shaded cells

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 MODULE STRUCTURE
Standard module structure Structure of a half-cell Full-cell shaded Half-cell shaded

120 half-cells
 6*20 half-cells connected in
60-72 cells parallel / 0% power / 50% power
3 or more bypass diods (each 2*20 half-cells are (e.g.: sliding snow)
connected to a bypass diode)
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Second basic rule:

Bypass diodes protect against damage in case

of shading and minimize the impact on yield
losses in the case of low shading.
• Integrated as standard in almost every
module
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EXAMPLE - EFFECTS OF LOW TO MODERATE SHADING

/ Partial shading of the PV-system from 8:45 to 10:00am

/ Daily PV production curve of an inverter without any
integrated solution against shading:

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FRONIUS SOLUTION FOR MORE YIELD
Dynamic Peak Manager
/ Integrated as standard
/ finds optimal working point even in the
case of shading
/ For more yield and flexibility

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FRONIUS DYNAMIC PEAK MANAGER
/ green area = additional yield from DPM
/ Daily PV production curve with Fronius inverter
(integrated Dynamic Peak Manager):

7% more yield with Fronius

Dynamic Peak Manager!

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Third basic rule:

With the Dynamic Peak Manager from Fronius, which is

integrated as standard, more yield is achieved even
with low to moderate partial shading!
• DPM integrated as standard
• No additional optimizer necessary
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EXTREME SHADING / COMPLEX SYSTEMS
/ Large, complex shading over the whole day / complex systems with multiple orientations

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SMART MODULES CHIP INTEGRATED

/ Integrated chips are operating on cell-level

 Maximum module power.

/ Substitutes bypass diodes

 No hot-spots.

/ Manufacturer: Texas Instruments, Maxim

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PERFORMANCE AT SHADED SYSTEM
Conventional panel Optimizer Integrated cell-string optimizer

66% 66% 86%

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DISADVANTAGES OF EXTERNAL OPTIMIZERS

Less yield at low High failure rate Higher risk of fire

and moderate level Increasing the number of
High effort in service
of shading through increased rate plugs leads to higher risk
of optimizer failures of fire
Self-consumption of the
optimizers

Wechselrichter
plugs
Optimizer
61 instead of 21 MC4 plugs PV Modules
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STRING INVERTERS VS. DC OPTIMIZER
YIELD COMPARISON*

/ Different systems were tested

/ System with string inverters
/ System with power optimizer Different shading
scenarios of the modules
e.g. wooden posts
/ Test conditions
/ Ground-mounted, South-west oriented system in
Denmark, Angle of inclination 42°
/ 42 modules divided into groups
Illustration: Assc. Prof. Dr. W.-Toke Franke. 2020.

/ Different scenarios were tested The Impact of Optimizers for PV-Modules –

A comparative study. University of Southern
Denmark

22 *Assc. Prof. Dr. W.-Toke Franke. 2020. The Impact of Optimizers for PV-Modules - A comparative study. University of Southern Denmark Fronius International GmbH / Leistungselektronik auf Modulebene
STRING INVERTERS VS. DC OPTIMIZER
YIELD COMPARISON

31.05.2018 - String inverter DC optimizer system 1 DC optimizer system 2

13.06.2019
Production [kWh] 1.454,261 1.453,578 1.418,588
Difference to string 100% 99,95% 97,55%
inverter in %

Additional yield with string inverter system taking all the different scenarios into
account!!

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Summary

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SUMMARY - SHADING / COMPLEX ROOFS

Good system planning and the greatest possible avoidance of shading is the
most important point!

Standard Fronius inverters with integrated Dynamic Peak Manager as an

optimal and inexpensive solution!

Use standard or half-cell modules!

/ Less expensive solution
/ Less plug connections - less fire risk
/ Less components – lower chance of failure / less susceptibility to errors

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FURTHER INFORMATIONS

…on our homepage:

/ Operation- and installation instructions
https://www.fronius.com/en/downloads

/ Register for our next webinars!

https://www.fronius.com/en/photovoltaics/infocentre/events

…and also on YouTube:

/ “How-to”- & installation videos
/ Webinar recordings
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Fronius International GmbH / Shading of the PV system - effects and measures
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