Comparison of Different Solutions for Blocking Diode Applications in a Photovoltaic Panel under Varying Ambient Conditions

We characterized a crystalline silicon based mini-module under varying ambient conditions, developed a PSPICE model for this panel, including temperature and irradiation dependence and applied this model to the simulation of the impact of a blocking diode under different shadowing conditions. Different blocking diodes were examined, like germanium and silicon homojunction diodes and silicon Schottky diodes and compared to ＂intelligent＂ diodes, consisting of operational amplifiers with MOSFET switches. The simulations indicate a strongly reduced power loss in a panel integrating the new ＂intelligent＂ blocking diodes even when compared to silicon Schottky diodes, as the best performing traditional blocking diodes.