In the process of the decarbonization of energy production, the use of photovoltaic systems (PVS) is an increasing trend. In order to optimize the power generation, the fault detection and identification in PVS is significant. The purpose of this work is the study and implementation of such an algorithm, for the detection as many as faults arising on the DC side of a photovoltaic system. A machine learning technique was chosen. The dataset used to train the algorithm was based on a year’s worth of irradiance and temperature data, as well as data from the PV cell used. The method uses logistic regression with cross validation as a new approach to detect and identify faults in PVS. It is applied to smart PV arrays, that can transmit voltage and current measurements from each PV cell of the array individually. The results are satisfactory since the algorithm can detect the majority of faults that occur on the DC side of a photovoltaic (open-circuit fault, short-circuit fault, mismatch faults). The accuracy of the algorithm (97.11%) is comparable to other methods presented by the literature. Moreover, the computational cost of the proposed method is significantly lower than the methods presented in the literature. In summary, the performance of the implemented algorithm is considered particularly satisfactory and can be easily applied to PVS.

Decarbonization of energy generation is required to address the urgent need to combat climate change and meet the Paris Agreement targets. Photovoltaic Systems (PVS) are a major contributor to this solution, and they are expected to grow significantly faster than any other renewable-energy technology in the coming years due to their appealing features. This paper discusses the development of a two-way communication protocol between two transceivers and a custom-designed communication board installed on each PV array. With this configuration, it is possible to transmit the measurements of each PV cell in the array to a data recording and monitoring service. Additionally, the application can customize the operation of the strings that make up the array, by broadcasting special commands to them. A prototype experimental setup was constructed in order to test the communication between the PV array communication board and the uplink/downlink transceivers. The experimental results verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed communication protocol between the Electronics Interface System (EIS) and the Smart PV array since the communication protocol meets the specification for transmitting the information from 1000 smart PV cells within one minute, as well as the strict timing requirements by the protocol for transmitting the parameters to the PV strings.