Power maximization of a photovoltaic system using automatic solar panel tracking along with boost converter and charge controller

Abstract

This paper proposes a microcontroller based single axis automatic solar panel tracking control method for keeping the solar panel approximately at right angle with the incident photon for the better performance and maximize the output power of the solar panel. The charge controller with the DC-DC boost converter is used along the automatic tracking system for further enhancing output power under variable insolation conditions and protecting the battery from being overcharged and over discharged condition. The Boost converter is used to overcome the lower output voltage of solar panel for not fulfilling the minimum charging voltage requirement of the battery thus more power extraction is possible from the solar panel to battery. The system includes a photovoltaic array, three LDRs sensor, a PWM controlled Boost converter, charge controller and sensor circuits. This paper discusses the low cost implementation of the whole system in the 8-bit microcontroller using the tools and techniques to generate optimized real time code in C for ATMega8 microcontroller which will demonstrate how maximization of power output is visible and efficient solution for increasing the efficiency of a solar system based on experimental results rather than on mathematical models.