MUMBAI, India, July 7 -- Intellectual Property India has published a patent application (202641080238 A) filed by Nyquest Innovation Labs Private Limited on June 30, 2026, for System And Method For Utility Mains Failure Detection In On Grid Systems.
Inventors include Vinod Kumar Gopal; and Athul Raj D S.
The application for the patent was published on July 03, 2026, under issue no. 27/2026.
Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system for detecting utility grid availability or mains failure in grid-tied photovoltaic systems by utilizing intrinsic electrical characteristics of a photovoltaic DC bus. In particular, the invention analyses alternating current (AC) ripple components superimposed on the DC voltage of a photovoltaic array, which arise due to interaction between a photovoltaic source, a grid-tied inverter, and a utility grid. The system employs a voltage sensing arrangement configured to safely acquire photovoltaic voltage signals while maintaining galvanic isolation between high-voltage and low-voltage domains using known isolation techniques such as isolation amplifiers, optocouplers, transformers, Hall-effect sensors, resistive-capacitive networks, or voltage-to-frequency conversion methods. In a preferred embodiment, a differential sensing configuration is used to extract the AC ripple component from the photovoltaic DC bus while substantially rejecting common-mode DC voltage. The extracted ripple signal is AC-coupled, conditioned, and digitized using an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC). A processing unit analyses characteristics of the ripple signal including amplitude, root-mean-square (RMS) value, peak-to-peak variation, frequency content, and spectral properties. These parameters are compared with reference thresholds corresponding to normal grid-connected operation. A deviation in the ripple signature is used to determine a utility mains failure, grid disconnection, or anti-islanding condition. The invention thereby provides a simplified and cost-effective approach for grid failure detection without requiring direct measurement of grid voltage or frequency, reducing system complexity, cost, and hardware requirements while improving reliability of grid-tied photovoltaic systems.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
