DC power conversion circuit
The inventive technology, in certain embodiments, may be generally described as a solar power generation system with a converter, which may potentially include two or more sub-converters, established intermediately of one or more strings of solar panels. Particular embodiments may involve sweet spot operation in order to achieve improvements in efficiency, and bucking of open circuit voltages by the converter in order that more panels may be placed on an individual string or substring, reducing the number of strings required for a given design, and achieving overall system and array manufacture savings.
1. A circuit configuration, comprising:
a first DC power generator and a second DC power generator, said first DC power generator and said second DC power generator each providing a DC voltage and each having a positive output and a negative output; and
a converter having a positive output and a negative output, said converter converting both the DC voltage provided by said first DC power generator and the DC voltage provided by said second DC power generator,
wherein said positive output of said second DC power generator is connected to said positive output of said converter through at least one inductor and at least one diode that are connected at a first connection,
wherein said negative output of said first DC power generator is connected to said negative output of said converter through at least one different inductor and at least one different diode that are connected at a second connection,
wherein said negative output of said second DC power generator is directly connected to said negative output of said converter, and said positive output of said first DC power generator is directly connected to said positive output of said converter, and
wherein said converter comprises at least one switch that is connected between said first connection and said second connection.
2. The circuit configuration as described in claim 1 wherein said at least one switch is connected between a node between said at least one inductor and said at least one diode and a node between said at least one different inductor and said at least one different diode.
3. The circuit configuration as described in claim 1 wherein said first DC power generator is a first photovoltaic power generator and said second DC power generator is a second photovoltaic power generator.
4. The circuit configuration as described in claim 1 wherein said first DC power generator is a first solar panel substring and said second power generator is a second solar panel substring.