IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v229y2026ics1364032125013309.html

From conventional designs to advanced approaches of bypass diode utilization in PV systems

Author

Listed:
  • Sezgin-Ugranlı, Hatice Gül

Abstract

Bypass diodes are essential components for mitigating mismatch losses and hotspot formation in photovoltaic (PV) modules exposed to partial shading. While their role is widely acknowledged, studies addressing their integration, configuration, and long-term behavior remain dispersed across different research domains. This paper brings together these perspectives to establish a structured overview of bypass diode principles and applications. It begins with the fundamental conduction mechanism of bypass diodes and analytical approaches for selecting appropriate diode counts. Established configuration strategies are discussed with a focus on optimization, placement choices, and overlapping protection schemes. Reliability concerns are then examined, emphasizing degradation pathways such as thermal runaway, reverse-bias overstress, and solder joint fatigue. In addition, the survey explores recent developments in alternative protection concepts, including MOSFET-based devices and smart bypass circuits, which aim to provide higher efficiency and improved fault resilience. By synthesizing findings from theoretical, experimental, and field studies, the paper highlights that bypass diode design is not a secondary consideration but a decisive determinant of PV system performance and durability. The analysis further underscores the importance of coupling electrical optimization with reliability-oriented design practices. Overall, the review provides a critical synthesis of conventional and emerging bypass protection strategies, guiding future research toward sustainable PV design and improved system reliability.

Suggested Citation

  • Sezgin-Ugranlı, Hatice Gül, 2026. "From conventional designs to advanced approaches of bypass diode utilization in PV systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:229:y:2026:i:c:s1364032125013309
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.116657
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032125013309
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2025.116657?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mao, Mingxuan & Chen, Siyu & Yan, Jinyue, 2023. "Modelling pavement photovoltaic arrays with cellular automata," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(PB).
    2. Aghaei, M. & Fairbrother, A. & Gok, A. & Ahmad, S. & Kazim, S. & Lobato, K. & Oreski, G. & Reinders, A. & Schmitz, J. & Theelen, M. & Yilmaz, P. & Kettle, J., 2022. "Review of degradation and failure phenomena in photovoltaic modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    3. Ahmad, R. & Murtaza, Ali F. & Ahmed Sher, Hadeed & Tabrez Shami, Umar & Olalekan, Saheed, 2017. "An analytical approach to study partial shading effects on PV array supported by literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 721-732.
    4. Das, Soubhagya K. & Verma, Deepak & Nema, Savita & Nema, R.K., 2017. "Shading mitigation techniques: State-of-the-art in photovoltaic applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 369-390.
    5. Silvestre, S. & Boronat, A. & Chouder, A., 2009. "Study of bypass diodes configuration on PV modules," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(9), pages 1632-1640, September.
    6. Romênia G. Vieira & Fábio M. U. de Araújo & Mahmoud Dhimish & Maria I. S. Guerra, 2020. "A Comprehensive Review on Bypass Diode Application on Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, May.
    7. Mohammadmehdi Seyedmahmoudian & Saad Mekhilef & Rasoul Rahmani & Rubiyah Yusof & Ehsan Taslimi Renani, 2013. "Analytical Modeling of Partially Shaded Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Fauzan, Luthfan & Sim, Yeon Hyang & Yun, Min Ju & Choi, Hyekyoung & Lee, Dong Yoon & Cha, Seung I., 2025. "Power from shaded photovoltaic modules through bypass-diode-assisted small-area high-voltage structures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    9. Huixue Ren & Peide Han, 2021. "Necessity Analysis of Bypass Diode for AC Module under Partial Shading Condition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-12, August.
    10. Zhang, Peng & Li, Wenyuan & Li, Sherwin & Wang, Yang & Xiao, Weidong, 2013. "Reliability assessment of photovoltaic power systems: Review of current status and future perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 822-833.
    11. Ko, Suk Whan & Ju, Young Chul & Hwang, Hye Mi & So, Jung Hun & Jung, Young-Seok & Song, Hyung-Jun & Song, Hee-eun & Kim, Soo-Hyun & Kang, Gi Hwan, 2017. "Electric and thermal characteristics of photovoltaic modules under partial shading and with a damaged bypass diode," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 232-243.
    12. Pieter Bauwens & Jan Doutreloigne, 2016. "NMOS-Based Integrated Modular Bypass for Use in Solar Systems (NIMBUS): Intelligent Bypass for Reducing Partial Shading Power Loss in Solar Panel Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-15, June.
    13. Teo, J.C. & Tan, Rodney H.G. & Mok, V.H. & Ramachandaramurthy, Vigna K. & Tan, ChiaKwang, 2020. "Impact of bypass diode forward voltage on maximum power of a photovoltaic system under partial shading conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    14. Koester, L. & Lindig, S. & Louwen, A. & Astigarraga, A. & Manzolini, G. & Moser, D., 2022. "Review of photovoltaic module degradation, field inspection techniques and techno-economic assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    15. Ahmad, Mohd Faraz & Arif, M. Saad Bin & Jalil, Mohd Faisal & Rizvi, Masood & Bansal, R.C., 2025. "Recent developments, challenges, and future scenarios in PV Array reconfiguration for mitigating partial shading," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 390(C).
    16. Kurt Michael Coetzer & Arnold Johan Rix & Pieter Gideon Wiid, 2022. "The Measurement and SPICE Modelling of Schottky Barrier Diodes Appropriate for Use as Bypass Diodes within Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-30, June.
    17. Kumari, P. Ashwini & Geethanjali, P., 2018. "Parameter estimation for photovoltaic system under normal and partial shading conditions: A survey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1-11.
    18. Ghosh, Santosh & Yadav, Vinod Kumar & Mukherjee, Vivekananda, 2019. "Improvement of partial shading resilience of PV array though modified bypass arrangement," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1079-1093.
    19. Schneller, Eric J. & Brooker, R. Paul & Shiradkar, Narendra S. & Rodgers, Marianne P. & Dhere, Neelkanth G. & Davis, Kristopher O. & Seigneur, Hubert P. & Mohajeri, Nahid & Wohlgemuth, John & Scardera, 2016. "Manufacturing metrology for c-Si module reliability and durability Part III: Module manufacturing," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 992-1016.
    20. Woo Gyun Shin & Suk Whan Ko & Hyung Jun Song & Young Chul Ju & Hye Mi Hwang & Gi Hwan Kang, 2018. "Origin of Bypass Diode Fault in c-Si Photovoltaic Modules: Leakage Current under High Surrounding Temperature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-11, September.
    21. Jaeun Kim & Matheus Rabelo & Siva Parvathi Padi & Hasnain Yousuf & Eun-Chel Cho & Junsin Yi, 2021. "A Review of the Degradation of Photovoltaic Modules for Life Expectancy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-21, July.
    22. Orozco-Gutierrez, M.L. & Ramirez-Scarpetta, J.M. & Spagnuolo, G. & Ramos-Paja, C.A., 2014. "A method for simulating large PV arrays that include reverse biased cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 157-167.
    23. Malathy, S. & Ramaprabha, R., 2015. "Comprehensive analysis on the role of array size and configuration on energy yield of photovoltaic systems under shaded conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 672-679.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Romênia G. Vieira & Fábio M. U. de Araújo & Mahmoud Dhimish & Maria I. S. Guerra, 2020. "A Comprehensive Review on Bypass Diode Application on Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Teo, J.C. & Tan, Rodney H.G. & Mok, V.H. & Ramachandaramurthy, Vigna K. & Tan, ChiaKwang, 2020. "Impact of bypass diode forward voltage on maximum power of a photovoltaic system under partial shading conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    3. Fauzan, Luthfan & Sim, Yeon Hyang & Yun, Min Ju & Choi, Hyekyoung & Lee, Dong Yoon & Cha, Seung I., 2025. "Power from shaded photovoltaic modules through bypass-diode-assisted small-area high-voltage structures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Sezgin-Ugranlı, Hatice Gül, 2025. "To what extent the number of bypass diodes influence the performance of PV modules: probabilistic assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    5. Meena, Roopmati & Pareek, Arti & Gupta, Rajesh, 2024. "A comprehensive Review on interfacial delamination in photovoltaic modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    6. Abdulla, Hind & Sleptchenko, Andrei & Nayfeh, Ammar, 2024. "Photovoltaic systems operation and maintenance: A review and future directions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    7. J. C. Teo & Rodney H. G. Tan & V. H. Mok & Vigna K. Ramachandaramurthy & ChiaKwang Tan, 2018. "Impact of Partial Shading on the P-V Characteristics and the Maximum Power of a Photovoltaic String," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, July.
    8. Song, Zihao & Huang, Lin & Dong, Qichang & Zhang, Guomin & Chew, Michael Yit Lin & Setunge, Sujeeva & Shi, Long, 2025. "Impacts of shadow conditions on solar PV array performance: A full-scale experimental and empirical study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    9. Belligoni, Sara & Trader, Elizabeth & Li, Mengjie & Rahman, Mohammad Siddiqur & Ali, Javed & Enriquez, Alejandra Rodriguez & Nagaraj, Meghana & Aksha, Sanam K. & Stevens, Kelly A. & Wahl, Thomas & Emr, 2025. "Transdisciplinary research promoting clean and resilient energy systems for socially vulnerable communities: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    10. Tarek Berghout & Mohamed Benbouzid & Toufik Bentrcia & Xiandong Ma & Siniša Djurović & Leïla-Hayet Mouss, 2021. "Machine Learning-Based Condition Monitoring for PV Systems: State of the Art and Future Prospects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-24, October.
    11. Tiago Alves & João Paulo N. Torres & Ricardo A. Marques Lameirinhas & Carlos A. F. Fernandes, 2021. "Different Techniques to Mitigate Partial Shading in Photovoltaic Panels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-25, June.
    12. Manoharan Premkumar & Umashankar Subramaniam & Thanikanti Sudhakar Babu & Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan & Lucian Mihet-Popa, 2020. "Evaluation of Mathematical Model to Characterize the Performance of Conventional and Hybrid PV Array Topologies under Static and Dynamic Shading Patterns," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-37, June.
    13. Rezk, Hegazy & AL-Oran, Mazen & Gomaa, Mohamed R. & Tolba, Mohamed A. & Fathy, Ahmed & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Olabi, A.G. & El-Sayed, Abou Hashema M., 2019. "A novel statistical performance evaluation of most modern optimization-based global MPPT techniques for partially shaded PV system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    14. Mahmoud Dhimish & Pavlos I. Lazaridis, 2022. "Approximating Shading Ratio Using the Total-Sky Imaging System: An Application for Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Bressan, M. & El Basri, Y. & Galeano, A.G. & Alonso, C., 2016. "A shadow fault detection method based on the standard error analysis of I-V curves," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1181-1190.
    16. Ju, Xing & Pan, Xinyu & Zhang, Zheyang & Xu, Chao & Wei, Gaosheng, 2019. "Thermal and electrical performance of the dense-array concentrating photovoltaic (DA-CPV) system under non-uniform illumination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 904-915.
    17. Merino, S. & Sánchez, F.J. & Sidrach de Cardona, M. & Guzmán, F. & Guzmán, R. & Martínez, J. & Sotorrío, P.J., 2018. "Optimization of energy distribution in solar panel array configurations by graphs and Minkowski’s paths," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 319(C), pages 48-58.
    18. Ranjbaran, Parisa & Yousefi, Hossein & Gharehpetian, G.B. & Astaraei, Fatemeh Razi, 2019. "A review on floating photovoltaic (FPV) power generation units," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 332-347.
    19. Malathy, S. & Ramaprabha, R., 2018. "Reconfiguration strategies to extract maximum power from photovoltaic array under partially shaded conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2922-2934.
    20. Fonseca Alves, Ricardo Henrique & Deus Júnior, Getúlio Antero de & Marra, Enes Gonçalves & Lemos, Rodrigo Pinto, 2021. "Automatic fault classification in photovoltaic modules using Convolutional Neural Networks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 502-516.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:229:y:2026:i:c:s1364032125013309. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.