Patent ID: 7256566

Claim:
A method for determining a maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic array, comprising at least one photovoltaic cell, coupleable to a power inverter by way of a DC bus comprising a capacitor coupled across the DC bus and a switch positioned between the photovoltaic array and an AC bus of the inverter, the method comprising: closing the switch and obtaining a maximum value of a current substantially provided by the photovoltaic array to the capacitor in response to the closing of the switch; charging the capacitor with the current to progressively increase a voltage of the capacitor while the current decreases from the maximum value; obtaining values of the current and the voltage while the capacitor is charging; obtaining a value of the voltage after the capacitor is charged; using the obtained maximum value of the current, the values of the current and the voltage while the capacitor is charging, and the value of the voltage after the capacitor is charged to generate I-V characteristics of the photovoltaic array; and determining the MPP of the photovoltaic array from the generated I-V characteristics.