Influence of Defective Bypass Diodes on Electrical and Thermal Properties of Photovoltaic String and Array

Abstract

The intent of this paper is to analyze the power consumption or heat dissipation of defective bypass diode (BPD) at open circuit (OC) and maximum power point (MPP) load conditions when the BPD turns to have resistive behavior in a photovoltaic (PV) string and array. We also analyze the thermal impact of defective BPD in a PV string under different irradiances and cell temperatures. It was observed that the power consumption of defective BPD largely depends on load condition and the thermal impact is more severe in OC condition. It was also observed that the thermal impact of defective BPD is larger under either high irradiance level for the same cell temperature or lower cell temperature on the same irradiance. This study indicates that it is necessary to monitor the heat dissipation of BPDs and to evaluate the electrical properties of the BPDs to realize the reliable PV systems.