Monitoring system improves solar panel efficiency

Currently within solar power plants, strings that connect as many as ten solar panels in series are aggregated by a power conditioner, and DC power is converted to AC power. Therefore, even if a single solar panel develops a fault, the output of the entire string drops, resulting in a loss of power generation for the entire power plant. Although the use of a power conditioner for power monitoring provides an understanding of the status of power generation of the entire power plant, the details of the failure and the location of occurrence of the problem cannot be detected without a large amount of effort and cost.

Through each string, TAIYO YUDEN's system detects both the current flow and the voltage of the installed solar panels. If there is a decline in output due to the failure of a panel or an improper wiring connection, it is possible to identify the string in which the problem has occurred. By combining together its power supply circuit technology and wireless module technology, TAIYO YUDEN has also been able to construct a wireless sensor network. This module can be operated using only a small amount of power generated by the solar panels, removing the need for both power supply cables and communication cables and therefore reducing the overall cost. 

Following demonstration experiments at several EPC*1 and customers’ solar power plants, TAIYO YUDEN  will commence production on the systems in August 2014.