Patent ID: 8232673

Claim:
A method of operating a power conditioner, the power conditioner comprising: a main converter comprising a first winding to transform a voltage outputted from a power source into a first transformed voltage and output the first transformed voltage to supply power to a power using point, and a second winding to transform the voltage outputted from the power source into a second transformed voltage and output the second transformed voltage to supply power to a balance-of-plant (BOP) element of the power source, a capacitor connected to the first winding to store power outputted from the first winding and output a voltage, an auxiliary converter connected to the capacitor to transform the voltage outputted from the capacitor into a third transformed voltage to supply power to the BOP element, a first on/off switch in a first power supply line that supplies power to the BOP element from the auxiliary converter, a second on/off switch in a second power supply line that supplies power directly to the BOP element from the second winding, and a controller to control the first on/off switch and the second on/off switch to selectively provide power to the BOP element from the auxiliary converter and the second winding; the method comprising: starting the power source; supplying power to the BOP element only from the auxiliary converter by controlling the first on/off switch and the second on/off switch using the controller when the voltage outputted from the power source is unstable; and supplying power to the BOP element only from the second winding, thereby bypassing the auxiliary converter, by controlling the first on/off and the second on/off switch using the controller when the voltage outputted from the power source is stable.