Analysis of partial shading of PV modules

Solar energy is one of the supreme and reliable source of inexhaustible energy. It is free of pollution, requires minimum maintenance, recyclable and inexhaustible. The performance of solar PV system is mostly depends on solar irradiation, surrounding temperature and array configuration used. However the output of solar photovoltaic arrays also counts on the impact of shading on the panels and the relation between the output powers of the Photovoltaic arrays. Partial shading is a state in which all cells of a PV configuration receive a various range of sunlight. This shading is possible either due to different conditions like neighbour building, nearby tree or due to clouds or building. The purpose of this work is to study[1], analyse and illustrate the effects of partial shading with the P-V and I-V characteristics of the PV array and the analysis is done by using MATLAB - Simulink.