Solar panel partial shading, hotspots, and bypass diodes

Solar panel partial shading, hotspots, and bypass diodes, 48 minutes. When a leaf rests on a solar panel, it can cause the partially shaded solar cell to get hot: a hotspot. This video explores why the partially shaded solar cell gets hot, how it affects the power delivered to the load, and how bypass diodes work and help. AC microinverters and DC power optimizers are mentioned but not the purpose for this video. All diagrams in this video are my own work and may be freely used with attribution to Walter Urbaniak. The lecture script is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18mzG... Solar panel partial shading, hotspots, and bypass diodes 0:00 p-n junction diode 01:45 Solar cells 07:46 Cooling 11:53 Solar panel current convention 12:43 Solar panel 16:19 Solar panel driving a load 19:12 Shading the entire panel 20:40 A partially shaded solar cell: reduced power and a hotspot 21:57 Reverse breakdown voltage 28:33 Panel strings 29:52 Bypass diodes 31:13 IV curve with partially shaded cell 40:51 Completely shaded solar cell 43:00 Solar panels with half cells 45:51 Multiple panels 47:14