Patent ID: 8472220

Claim:
A photovoltaic (PV) panel system comprising: a PV panel in combination with a power conditioning unit for providing ac power from the PV panel, wherein the PV panel comprises a string of series connected solar cells having first and second connections to either end of said string and having at least one tap connection between the first and second connections to define a plurality of sub-strings of said string, each sub-string having an electrical connection at either end, wherein said power conditioning unit comprises: a set of input power converters, one input power converter for each substring of said plurality of sub-strings, each input power converter having a pair of dc input connections connected to either end of a sub-string, each of said input power converters having a power output; a common output power conversion stage coupled to said set of input power converters to provide an ac output from said power conditioning unit; a sensor to sense one or both of a voltage on a sub-string and a current provided by said sub-string; and a bypass controller coupled to said sensor to control an input power converter connected to said sub-string to reduce or stop power conversion by said input power converter from said sub-string.