Safety mechanisms, wake up and shutdown methods in distributed power installations

An apparatus comprising:

• a power converter comprising input terminals, output terminals, and a controller, wherein the power converter is configured to be powered on using direct current (DC) power received at the input terminals, and wherein the controller comprises a digital pulse width modulator and is configured to control the power converter by adjusting a duty cycle of the power converter using pulse width modulation, wherein the controller is further configured to:
• operate the power converter at a low duty cycle to limit output voltage at the output terminals of the power converter below a predetermined voltage in response to detecting an absence of a communication signal;
• detect, while limiting the output voltage, receipt of the communication signal;
• responsive to detecting receipt of the communication signal, perform an iterative voltage control process including multiple iterations of:
• a first operation to control the power converter to increase the output voltage by increasing the duty cycle of the power converter, and
• a second operation by the controller to determine an amount of current being drawn, from the output terminals of the power converter, by an inverter;
• responsive to the increases of the output voltage and responsive to the controller determining the amount of current being drawn by the inverter exceeds a preexisting level, transition the power converter from the iterative voltage control process to maximum power point tracking;
• and
• maintain, responsive to the transitioning, the output voltage to be below a maximum output voltage of the power converter while simultaneously maintaining about maximum DC power at the input terminals of the power converter.