Investigating the integration of power line communications and low-voltage solar photovoltaic systems

• Main Author: Ndjiongue, Alain Richard
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Building-integrated photovoltaic systems; Photovoltaic power systems; Direct energy conversion
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8759

M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering Science) === One of the challenges of modern technology is remote control in real-time. Wireless technologies are used to control solar systems connected or not connected to the grid. Nevertheless wireless communications present some defects when they are facing basements of buildings and thick walls. To overcome that weakness, wire technologies seem to be the solution. The use of power line communications (PLC) technology presents a financial advantage, given the fact that PLC uses power wire to transmit data. PLC did an interesting leap forward in the last few years, and this drives researchers to carry out research in that field of Electrical Engineering. The advantages offered by PLC cannot be over-emphasized, but neither should the inherent problems affecting its commercial take-off be underestimated. This work creates a background study for experimental measurement and eventual implementations on PLC. A 2FSK modulation was implemented at CENELEC B standards, and the carrier signal was sent through a low wattage solar microinverter. The inverter was built in compliance with the IEEE 1547 standard. Two different coupling circuits were also built as well as the transceiver. The entire system was fed by a 250 W- 18 V monocrystalline solar panel. This investigation presents many options to integrate a communication system in a solar system. The case study has shown that a message sent through an H-bridge inverter is related to many parameters such as the modulation scheme, the coding techniques, the type of control and the DC link voltage. The result presents a very weak probability, which implies that the other options should be investigated.