Power conditioner and method of managing the same

A method of operating a power conditioner, the power conditioner comprising:

• a main converter comprising
• a first winding to transform a voltage outputted from a power source into a first transformed voltage and output the first transformed voltage to supply power to a power using point, and
• a second winding to transform the voltage outputted from the power source into a second transformed voltage and output the second transformed voltage to supply power to balance-of-plant (BOP) elements of the power source,
• a battery connected to the first winding to store power outputted from the first winding and output a voltage,
• an auxiliary converter connected to the battery to transform the voltage outputted from the battery into a third transformed voltage to supply power to the BOP elements,
• a first on/off switch in a first power supply line that supplies power to the BOP elements from the auxiliary converter,
• a second on/off switch in a second power supply line that supplies power directly to the BOP elements from the second winding, and
• a controller to control the first on/off switch and the second on/off switch to selectively provide power to the BOP elements from the auxiliary converter and the second winding;
• the method comprising:
• starting the power source;
• supplying power to the BOP elements only from the auxiliary converter by controlling the first on/off switch and the second on/off switch using the controller when the voltage outputted from the power source is unstable;
• and
• supplying power to the BOP elements only from the second winding, thereby bypassing the auxiliary converter, by controlling the first on/off and the second on/off switch using the controller when the voltage outputted from the power source is stable.

A power conditioner comprising:

• a main converter connectable to a power source to convert a voltage outputted from the power source into a main voltage and a first auxiliary voltage different from the main voltage, output the main voltage to supply power to a power using point, and output the first auxiliary voltage to supply power to balance-of-plant (BOP) elements of the power source and the power conditioner;
• an auxiliary converter connected to the main converter to convert the main voltage outputted from the main converter into a second auxiliary voltage substantially equal to the first auxiliary voltage and output the second auxiliary voltage to supply power to the BOP elements;
• and
• a control circuit connected to the main converter, the auxiliary converter, and the BOP elements to selectively supply the first auxiliary voltage outputted from the main converter or the second auxiliary voltage outputted from the auxiliary converter to the BOP elements.