Reverse Polarity Protection in Photovoltaic Systems: A Review

Wenping Zhang , Linyan Xu , Yiming Wang , Po Xu , Hui Chen

Smart Energy Syst. Res. ›› 2026, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (1) : 10003

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Smart Energy Syst. Res. ›› 2026, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (1) :10003 DOI: 10.70322/sesr.2026.10003
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Reverse Polarity Protection in Photovoltaic Systems: A Review
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Abstract

In photovoltaic (PV) systems, precise wiring connections are critical to ensuring safe operation. Thus, effective reverse polarity protection is the first line of defense against polarity reversal caused by wiring errors. This paper systematically reviews existing methods for protecting PV systems against reverse polarity. First, the operating principles of PV side reverse polarity protection techniques are analyzed, along with their advantages and limitations. Additionally, DC-bus side protection methods are examined, and the effectiveness of different approaches is evaluated. Overall, this review provides researchers with the latest advances in reverse polarity protection for PV systems.

Keywords

PV system / Reverse polarity protection / PV side protection / DC-bus side protection / Power electronics

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Wenping Zhang, Linyan Xu, Yiming Wang, Po Xu, Hui Chen. Reverse Polarity Protection in Photovoltaic Systems: A Review. Smart Energy Syst. Res., 2026, 2(1): 10003 DOI:10.70322/sesr.2026.10003

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Statement of the Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process

Generative AI was used solely for English grammar polishing.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Technical Development Center of Ginlong Technologies Co., Ltd. for their technical assistance and access to the specialized database.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, W.Z. and L.X.; Methodology, W.Z. and L.X.; Formal Analysis, W.Z., L.X., P.X. and H.C.; Investigation, W.Z. and L.X.; Resources, Y.W.; Data Curation, W.Z. and L.X.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, W.Z. and L.X.; Writing—Review & Editing, W.Z., Y.W., P.X. and H.C.; Visualization, W.Z. and L.X.; Supervision, W.Z., Y.W., P.X. and H.C.; Project Administration, W.Z., Y.W. and P.X.; Funding Acquisition, Y.W.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data availability is not applicable to this paper as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Funding

This work was funded by National Key R&D Program of China (2024YFB3814000) and R&D Program of Zhejiang (2024C01242(SD2)).

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Authors Wenping Zhang, Linyan Xu, Yiming Wang and Po Xu were employed by Ginlong Technologies Co., Ltd. The authors declare that this company was involved in providing access to a publicly available literature database and was not involved in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript writing.

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