Solar Module Shading

[Dsanduril]

For the nerds/dweebs/wonks among us, came across this article:

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/54876.pdf

It's pretty simplistic and tested household arrays, but has some overall interesting information.

The comparison was string (series) connected arrays vs. single modules with a micro inverter on each module. While we won't be using micros (anytime soon), we can still draw some conclusions from the string/non-string results.

One thing I noted was the finding that MPPT controllers can't always find the maximum power point in shaded conditions because there may be two or more solutions to the equation. They suggest only a 2% hit, but still something to get a little more study.