Patent ID: 8174856

Claim:
A photovoltaic module comprising: a direct current (DC) power source comprising a plurality of solar cells configured to generate DC power at a DC output of the DC power source in response to receiving an amount of sun light; and a configurable power supply electrically coupled to the DC power source, the configurable power supply comprising: (i) an input converter having an input electrically coupled to the DC output of the DC power source, the input converter being selectively configurable between a first circuit topology to generate a DC power output and a second circuit topology to generate an alternating current (AC) power output, the input converter comprising: an H-bridge circuit having a first input leg comprising a first electronic switch, a second input leg electrically coupled to the first input leg at a first node and comprising a second electronic switch, a third output leg comprising a third electronic switch, and a fourth output leg electrically coupled to the third output leg at a second node and comprising a fourth electronic switch, an inductor electrically coupled between the first node and the second node, and fifth electronic switch electrically coupled between the first input leg and the third output leg, the fifth electronic switch having an on state and an off state, wherein the state of the fifth electronic switch configures the input converter into a corresponding one of the first circuit topology and the second circuit topology; and (ii) an input controller electrically connected to the input converter to control the input converter to select one of the first circuit topology and the second circuit topology.