Photovoltaic system with managed output
OwnerRobert Johnson, Adrianne Kimber +2inventors
InventorsRobert Johnson, Adrianne Kimber, Carl J.S. Lenox, Matt Campbell
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Abstract
Photovoltaic systems with managed output and methods for managing variability of output from photovoltaic systems are described. A system includes a photovoltaic module configured to receive and convert solar energy to DC power. The system also includes a sensor configured to detect a future change in solar energy to be received by the photovoltaic module. The system further includes a power conditioning unit coupled with the photovoltaic module and the sensor.
Claims20
A photovoltaic system with managed output, the system comprising:
- a photovoltaic module configured to receive solar energy and convert the solar energy to DC power;
- a sensor configured to detect a future change in solar energy to be received by the photovoltaic module, the sensor comprising a pair of modules, each module configured to detect an amount of solar energy at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module;
- and
- a power conditioning unit coupled with the photovoltaic module and the sensor, wherein the power conditioning unit is configured to condition the DC power from the photovoltaic module and to output an amount of conditioned DC power based on the future change in solar energy, and wherein the power conditioning unit controls the output before and after the future change in solar energy occurs to output the same amount of conditioned DC power before and after the future change in solar energy occurs.
A method for managing variability of output from a photovoltaic system, the method comprising:
- detecting a future change in solar energy to be received by a photovoltaic module, the detecting performed by a sensor comprising a pair of modules, each module configured to detect an amount of solar energy at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module;
- conditioning DC power from the photovoltaic module, wherein the DC power is converted from solar energy;
- and
- outputting, from the photovoltaic system, an amount of conditioned DC power based on the future change in solar energy, wherein an output of the photovoltaic system is controlled before and after the future change in solar energy occurs to output the same amount of conditioned DC power before and after the future change in solar energy occurs.
A non-transitory machine-accessible storage medium having instructions stored thereon which cause a data processing system to perform a method for managing variability of output from a photovoltaic system, the method comprising:
- detecting a future change in solar energy to be received by a photovoltaic module, the detecting performed by a sensor comprising a pair of modules, each module configured to detect an amount of solar energy at a unique distance from the photovoltaic module;
- conditioning DC power from the photovoltaic module, wherein the DC power is converted from solar energy;
- and
- outputting, from the photovoltaic system, an amount of conditioned DC power based on the future change in solar energy, wherein an output of the photovoltaic system is controlled before and after the future change in solar energy occurs to output the same amount of conditioned DC power before and after the future change in solar energy occurs.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.