Partial Shading Of Solar Panels

The use of half cut solar cells increases the available electric pathways in a solar panel making it more resistant to shade.

Partial shading of solar panels.

In his book renewable energy and efficient electric power systems stanford university s gil masters demonstrates how shading just one out of 36 cells in a small solar module can reduce power output by over 75. A visual explanation of how shading affects solar panels to help you understand exactly what is meant by partial shading and how it affects the power output of a solar panel check out this video from the alte store. What are some strategies for dealing with potential shading of solar arrays. Why even partial shading is bad for solar power systems.

On the micro inverter system i use each panel gets its own mppt controller so i guess each panel whether shaded or unshaded is producing as much power as it can under the circumstances. In fact a shadow cast on even just part of one solar panel in your solar array can potentially compromise the output of the whole system. Another reason amorphous silicon solar panels have superior partial shade performance is they require more area than crystalline silicon panels to produce the same power. Partial shading of even one cell on a 36 cell solar panel will reduce its power output.

The fence rail shadow shades less than 10 of the panel area but cuts the power down by about 75 compared to the panels in full sun. Partial cell shading that reduce solar panel power by half. Another possible issue from partial shading is overheating. Because all cells are connected in a series string the weakest cell will bring the others down to its reduced power level.

As the amount of power generated in shaded non shaded parts differs it leads to overheating which in turn reduces the total power output of the solar panel. Solar panels work best when there is no shade cast upon them. However this is not the case. Intuition suggests that power output of the panel will be reduced proportionally to the area that is shaded.