Experimental assessment of Maximum Power Point Tracking methods for photovoltaic systems

Abstract

This paper presents different Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) methods belonging to different classes as well as two overviews. The first was about the procedures used in the test and evaluation of MPPTs. The second is an overview of Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) MPPTs and improved MPPTs. Conventional MPPTs such as Perturb and Observe (P&O), Hill Climbing (HC) and Incremental Conductance (InCond); Improved MPPTs (are the modified versions of conventional MPPTs) such as Improved Incremental Conductance (Improved-InCond) and intelligent MPPTs such as FLC have been implemented and tested under two different levels of irradiance and temperature. A detailed description about the hardware and software implementation platforms (designed and built in our laboratory) is provided. Based on measured data, the MPPTs under consideration have been evaluated and compared in terms of different criteria, showing the advantages and disadvantages of each one. The comparison results showed that Improved-InCond gives a fast convergence to the MPP(Maximum Power Point). Whereas, FLC is able to adapt to the variation of irradiance and temperature levels. Thereby, a good performance is obtained wherein the MPP is reached in a short time as well as the power ripples are very small.