Investigation of the effect of partial shading on the performance of photovoltaic systems and mitigation methods

The increasing demand for renewable energy has encouraged the widespread adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems. However, these systems are often exposed to partial shading caused by buildings, trees, or other obstacles. Shading disrupts the uniform distribution of light on the panels, significantly reducing the efficiency of PV systems. This study investigates the effects of partial shading on the power and current generated by PV panels. The analysis was conducted using simulations in the MATLAB/Simulink environment, employing the single-diode model. To mitigate shading effects and optimize system performance, five different PV array configurations were evaluated: Series (S), Series-Parallel (SP), Honey-Comb (HC), Total Cross-Tied (TCT), and Bridged-Link (BL). These configurations were tested under shading levels of 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% to assess their impact on power-voltage (P-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. The results indicate that among the tested configurations, the TCT array demonstrated superior performance. Particularly under high shading conditions, the TCT configuration provided higher power output and form factors. At 40% and 60% shading levels, the TCT configuration achieved power values of 2672 W and 2524 W, respectively, outperforming the Series configuration, which suffered significant power losses. This study highlights the importance of selecting optimal PV configurations to mitigate shading effects. The TCT configuration emerged as the most effective method for reducing energy losses in shaded conditions, while the Series configuration remains a viable option for environments without shading. These findings contribute to the development of more resilient PV systems for sustainable energy applications.