The unit control method includes the following steps: detecting a temperature of an inverter module of a current unit according to a first preset period; and controlling a demand capacity of the current unit and a photovoltaic power supplied by the current unit not to be increased in a case where the temperature is not less than a first preset threshold.

Various embodiments of the teachings herein include a system comprising: a local supply of renewable power; a storage device with a discharge characteristic; a switch for electrically connecting the storage device to the local supply; and a system controller. The system controller may be configured to: receive from the local supply a signal indicative of available power; read from a memory a time history of past activations of the storage device; estimate a future demand of power based on the time history; estimate a charge of the storage device based on the future demand of power and the discharge characteristic; compare the charge to the future demand of power; and if the charge is larger than the future demand of power by a predetermined margin, electrically connect the local supply of renewable power to the storage device by closing the switch.

A universal power conversion system for a solar panel array includes a first solar panel generating a first power output; a second solar panel generating a second power output different from the first power output; a common DC bus in communication with the first and second solar panels; a first switching power converter between the first solar panel and the common DC bus, which receives the first power output, and outputs a third power output at a first MPP; a controller which receives, from the common DC bus, the third power output at the first MPP and the second power output in parallel with the third power output. The second power output is maintained at a second MPP to achieve an MPP-maintained fourth power output. The controller further combines the third power output with the MPP-maintained fourth power output, and produces a combined output for a destination sink.

An inductive cooktop appliance that includes: a plurality of burners disposed at a top face of a stove housing, with the plurality of burners comprising induction coils at a top face of the stove housing; a set of cooktop appliance controls configured for operation of the inductive cooktop appliance, including at least operation of the plurality of burners; a communication system, configured to communicate with a remote server via at least Wi-Fi and the Internet, the remote server configured to control the inductive cooktop appliance, including providing over-the-air (OTA) software updates to the inductive cooktop appliance and one or more power cords configured to: couple with a 120 V electrical power receptacle of a 120 V electric power circuit of a power distribution system, and/or couple with a 240 V electrical power circuit of the power distribution system. The inductive cooktop appliance further includes an integrated battery, the battery configured to: store power obtained from at least one of the 120 V electric power circuit and the 240 V electrical power circuit of the power distribution system, and power the plurality of burners from a combination of power from the battery and from one of the 120 V electric power circuit or the 240 V electrical power circuit of the power distribution system.

An assembly includes one or more photovoltaic solar trackers; a rechargeable power supply system, including power supply elements to power the tracker or trackers; a charging system, to recharge the power elements; and a tracker controller. The assembly stands out for including one or more supercapacitors as power supply elements. The invention makes it possible to arrange the power supply elements at low temperatures without the need for heaters, increase their useful life and reduce their size.

A solar power generation system includes a plurality of solar cell panels; a plurality of power converters that convert DC power to AC power; and a control device that controls an operation of the plurality of power converters, the control device including a total output calculation unit configured to calculate an active power total value indicating a magnitude of an active power currently outputtable from all of the plurality of power converters, a difference calculation unit configured to calculate a first difference between a total upper limit command value and the active power total value, and an upper limit command value calculation unit configured to calculate, based on active power values of the plurality of respective power converters and the first difference, an individual upper limit command value indicating an upper limit of an active power individually output from each of the plurality of power converters.

A system, method and apparatus are disclosed for converting DC power to AC power. The system may include a plurality of series generative AC devices 502 such as DC to AC inverter systems 600 connected in series whose collective output may export power to a AC electrical power delivery network such as a provided AC grid phase. The system may also include an analog reference signal 518 representing the phase voltage used by each of the plurality of series-connected inverters to control proper synthesis of inverter output power. The system may also include a severance device 510 that separates the string of inverters 506 from the grid when not exporting power.

A system for balancing and converting voltage output from photovoltaic modules includes a set of solar substrings, a power conversion circuit, and a controller. The power conversion circuit includes: a set of windings coupled in series and arranged in parallel to the set of solar substrings; a set of switches coupled in parallel and interposed between the set of solar substrings and the set of windings; and an output switch coupled in series to a first switch, in the set of switches, and an output capacitor. The controller is configured to: oscillate states of the set of switches and the output switch at a first duty cycle; balance voltages output from the set of solar substrings across the set of windings to a nominal output voltage; and modify the nominal output voltage to a target voltage directed to the target load based on the first duty cycle.

A power converter and a data collector. A power line communication (PLC) chip in the power converter can transmit a data signal on a first frequency band, and transmit a control signal on a second frequency band. Signals of different types can be transmitted on the first frequency band and the second frequency band, and the first frequency band and the second frequency band do not overlap each other. Therefore, interference between the signals of different types can be effectively avoided, and simultaneous transmission of the signals of different types can be implemented. This not only effectively enhances flexibility of signal transmission, but also effectively avoids a transmission delay caused by a transmission conflict between the signals of different types in the PLC system, ensuring high timeliness for the data collector to perform data query and scheduling control on the power converter.