Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Research Articles

MPPT Charge Controller using Fuzzy Logic for Battery Integrated with Solar Photovoltaic System

In comparison to other Renewable Energy (RE) resources, solar energy has become the most prominent and prospective source for generating electricity, substituting conventional sources. However, solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy production is dependent on solar irradiance and cell temperature. By implementing the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm, it is achievable to maximize the power from solar PV. In spite of this, there is still a slower convergence rate, a significant fluctuation around Maximum Power Point (MPP), and a drift issue caused by rapid irradiance variations in solar PV. In order to prevent oscillation and attain a steady state and continuous output of the PV module, a Fuzzy Logic (FL)-based MPPT has been designed in this work. With the buck converter as the DC-DC converter and the lead acid battery as the input, the Perturb & Observe (P&O) MPPT method is selected. The overall design will be developed using Matlab Simulink, and the efficiency of the FL-MPPT charge controller will be evaluated under constant and step irradiance. Additionally, the battery's State of Charge (SOC) will be monitored to prevent overcharging and discharge. In addition, the effectiveness of the controller will be evaluated with and without the MPPT method. On the basis of simulation results obtained from constant and step irradiance levels, the FL-MPPT charge controller with the P&O algorithm and the lead acid battery as the load was able to maintain maximum system efficiency while extending battery life. The FL-MPPT charge controller obtained about 96% efficiency for both irradiance profiles, whereas the system without the FL-MPPT algorithm only achieved 42% efficiency.

A New Design and Embedded Implementation of a Low‐Cost Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Controller for Stand‐Alone Photovoltaic Systems

This article presents a low‐cost maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller designed to efficiently charge solar batteries using a simple and robust MPPT method, while providing protection against over‐currents and over‐voltages. The proposed MPPT approach utilizes a modified Incremental Conductance (INC) algorithm adapted to low‐cost embedded controllers, as it avoids all the mathematical division calculations typically used in the conventional INC algorithm. It also introduces a modified step size based only on photovoltaic (PV) power change to enhance tracking accuracy and convergence speed. Furthermore, to reduce the stress and switching losses of DC–DC converter, a feedback control with two proportional and integral (PI) compensators is also used to control both the PV voltage and to protect the battery from over‐currents using PV power limitation technique. Simulation results, carried out under MATLAB/Simulink, demonstrate the good performance of the proposed control scheme regarding any variations in atmospheric conditions, both for the MPPT control and for the battery charge control. Finally, a processor‐in‐the‐loop (PIL) test using a low‐cost Arduino MKR ZERO board is also performed to verify the hardware implementation of the proposed method. PIL results are in totally accordance with MATLAB/Simulink simulation results, which further proves the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Controller Using Modified Perturb and Observe Algorithm for Lead Acid Battery

A study was undertaken on development of a modified perturb and observe algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller. This MPPT algorithm was developed in Matlab/Simulink environment, using three-state charging method for improved battery charging with higher efficiency. A buck topology was utilised as a DC-DC converter for charge controller implementation. The maximum power of the photovoltaic panel was tracked by a modified perturb and observe algorithm. The battery charge controller charged a lead-acid battery using a three- stage charging strategy including the bulk charge, constant voltage (absorption charge), and float charge stage. The performance analysis of Simulink model was carried out by maximum power point tracking performance, battery charging performance, and overall charge controller efficiency performance. The performance results indicated that the maximum power point tracking was capable to track to the maximum power of PV panel at any solar irradiance variation with power tracking efficiency up to 98 per cent. The efficiency of overall charge controller was up to 98.3%, which matched many high-end commercial charge controller product specifications.

Predictive Diagnosis Based on Predictor Symptoms for Isolated Photovoltaic Systems Using MPPT Charge Regulators.

In this work, new results are presented on the implementation of predictive diagnosis techniques on isolated photovoltaic (PV) systems and installations. The novelties introduced in this research focus on the additional advantages obtained from the point of view of predictive diagnosis of faults caused by partial shading in isolated PV installations using maximum power point tracking (MPPT) regulators. MPPT regulators are comparatively more appropriate than pulse width modulation (PWM) solar regulators in order to implement fault diagnosis systems. MPPT regulators have a physical separation between the electrical parameters belonging to the part of the solar panel with respect to the batteries part. Therefore, these electrical parameters can be used to obtain early predictive symptoms of the effects of partial shading with a greater level of observation and sensitivity. Additionally, modifications are proposed in the PV system assembly to obtain greater homogeneity of all the panels regarding the solar irradiance reception angle.

Design of a photovoltaic mppt charge controller using DC-DC zeta converter with a modified three-stage charging method

Nowadays, one of the primary kinds of renewable energies is photovoltaic (PV) systems. In standalone PV systems, the battery charge controller plays an important role in the system efficiency. In the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller, due to adjusting the voltage level and tracking the maximum power, DC-DC converter and MPPT algorithm are used. ZETA converter, as a DC-DC converter, offers a low output ripple. In the proposed MPPT charge controller, a DC-DC ZETA converter accompanied by a P&O (perturb and observe) algorithm will be used for tracking maximum power. Furthermore, over-charging and gassing are phenomena that may reduce the battery life by increasing the battery's temperature. To overcome this obstacle, the proposed three-stage charging method, which is the battery charging voltage levels (bulk, absorption, and float) are based on the battery temperature. The proposed MPPT charge controller is used for providing lower temperature for the battery when being charged. By comparing the proposed MPPT charge controller with the conventional method, the simulation results can ensure the desired performance of the proposed charge controller.

A Study of MPPT Charge Controller Roles in Photovoltaic Energy Management

Nowadays, the world's demand the energy is increasing. So, we need a good energy management system to use the available energy. An energy management system consists of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller, battery management, and the power conversion stage to control and reduce energy consumption. Solar energy is used solar radiation and is converted into electrical energy. In photovoltaic (PV) system consists of a PV module, charge controller, battery storage, and load. Arduino NANO is used in this project because it's low cost and has an efficient microcontroller in the MPPT charge controller to prevent the battery from overcharging and display the maximum power point (MPP). Perturb and Observe (P&O) and Incremental Conductance (InC) algorithm is used in the MPPT charge controller to transfer maximum power from the PV module which is executed using a microcontroller. The voltage, current, and power from the MPPT charge controller, are shown on a liquid crystal display (LCD). The benefit of this project is to achieve high efficiency and low cost of photovoltaic modules for the design of photovoltaic systems with a simple MPPT.

Design and Simulation of an MPPT Charge Controller for a PV Application

In this document, we propose an MPPT charge controller based on the two-phase charging method proposed by the datasheet of the battery under test. Also, for efficient and optimal charge the charge controller reacts with better exploitation of the available photovoltaic (PV) power by means of a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique employed in the control algorithm especially the Perturb and observe (P&O) techniques; when threshold voltage reach, the regulation phase start. The MPPT and converter efficiency are respectively 98.7% and 98.2% at the standard test condition (STC).

Design, Construction, and Testing of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Charge Controller for Photovoltaic (PV) Power Generation

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller is designed for using an easy and effective way to charge a 12v battery and a laptop charger of 19v simultaneously through the principle of the bulk-boost converter. This research work is suitable for 150W solar panels, as the Maximum Power Point (MPP) of Photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems changes with variation in atmospheric conduction, an important consideration in the research work is the efficience of PV systems to track the Maximum Power Point (MPP) correctly. It enhances battery life by providing higher efficiency to it. The efficiency of the research work was calculated from the power dissipated, and also calculated the point at which the battery extracts maximum power from the PV module. As the work was tested, the voltage and current were obtained which was used to plot the voltage-current and voltage-power characteristics curve. Though a lot of works have been published on this topic, but none has researched on MPPT that can charge both 12v battery and 19v laptop charger simultaneously. Hence, this work is aimed at researching on Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) that will be able to perform the above mentioned features. Also, it is the objective of this work to compare the theoretical and experimental relationship between MPPT and PWM charge controller which the efficiency of the MPPT was calculated theoretically to be 97% while, experimentally we obtained it as 91.1% while for PWM the efficiency was calculated theoretically as 75% and experimentally as 70.4% which shows that MPPT charge controller is approximately 30% efficient more than the PWM charge controller.

Design of MPPT charge controller using zeta converter for battery integrated with solar Photovoltaic (PV) system

In this work, the advantage of using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm in solar Photovoltaic (PV) system was investigated. By simulation, the performance and efficiency of the system with and without the tracking algorithm was analyzed. By using MATLAB’s SimPower System block set, a model compromised of KC130TM solar panel powering a Zeta converter controlled by MPPT algorithm driving a lead acid battery as a load was designed. The main objective was to track the Maximum Power Point (MPP) of the solar PV module by modulating the zeta converter’s duty cycle, thereby, optimizing the power output of the panel. The Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm preformed with higher overall efficiency compared with the system without MPPT. Additionally, the tracking algorithm was able to track the MPP quickly. The analysis of the algorithm led to a greater understanding of where the inefficiencies of this type of system are located, allowing improvement in future work on this field.

MPPT Charge Controller Design in a Solar PV System Under Rapidly Changing Climate Condition

This paper presents a detailed theoretical study of photovoltaic (PV) systems and their operation using the MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) method and presents the simulation of photovoltaic modules validated by computer software simulation followed by an experimental setup of MATLAB R2017a. The first approach to build the performance of a photovoltaic solar panel is to use a maximum power point tracker in rapidly changing climatic conditions and use a DC-DC converter to maximize the output power. This framework can operate at the maximum power point MPP and produces its highest power in different irradiance conditions when the solar panels are partially shaded. The main perspectivesis design and simulation of a simple but efficient charge controller by utilizing maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic system and analysis results show that this MPPT system with perturb & observe (P&O) method and the DCDC Boost converter can significantly increase the efficiency and the performance of PV.

Performance comparison between PWM and MPPT charge controllers

Los controladores de carga son implementados en varios sistemas electrónicos con el objetivo de proteger y controlar la carga y descarga de una batería; en el caso de los controladores utilizados en sistemas fotovoltaicos autónomos se implementan dos tipos de tecnologías, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) y Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). En este artículo se compararon dos controladores de carga con diseños originales en sistemas fotovoltaicos con las mismas especificaciones técnicas para determinar el comportamiento de cada uno bajo condiciones ambientales similares. La implementación de ambos controladores de carga se basó en software y hardware con diseños originales, utilizando tecnología PWM y MPPT. Ambos sistemas están compuestos por el controlador de carga, un panel solar de 30 W y una batería de 12 V a 18 Ah; se realizaron las pruebas experimentales de ambos controladores midiendo voltaje y corriente en el panel y en la batería en procesos de carga y descarga, observando que el controlador MPPT tiene una eficiencia promedio mayor que el controlador PWM debido a que el tipo de tecnología implementada influye directamente en la eficiencia, incluso ante valores menos favorables de radiación solar y temperatura ambiente. El controlador PWM es una opción de eficiencia aceptable y además de bajo costo respecto al controlador MPPT. En la implementación de ambos controladores se calcularon tiempos de autonomía similares.

MPPT Charger with PWM Controller for Photovoltaic Based System

Global energy demand is increasing exponentially. This increase in demand causes concern pertaining to the global energy crisis and allied environmental threats. The solution of these issues is seen in renewable energy sources. Solar energy is considered one of the major sources of renewable energy, available in abundance and also free of cost. Solar photo voltaic (PV) cells are used to convert solar energy in to unregulated electrical energy. These solar PV cells exhibition linear characteristics and give very low efficiency. Therefore, it becomes essential to extract maximum power from solar PV cells using maximum power point tracking (MPPT). Perturb and observe (P&O) is one of such MPPT schemes. This paper aims to address the issue of the conventional P&O MPPT scheme under increase solar irradiation condition and its behavior under changed load condition using Digital PWM Controller.

Development and validation of a real time flow control integrated MPPT charger for solar PV applications of vanadium redox flow battery

In this paper a real time flow control integrated solar PV Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller for Vanadium Redox Flow battery (VRFB) is developed and its performance is demonstrated under practical dynamic insolation profiles. Unlike the conventional Lead acid and Li-ion batteries the major challenge in designing the solar MPPT charger for VRFB lies in simultaneous control of charging current and corresponding flow rate for maintaining the maximum overall system efficiency of the VRFB besides achieving the maximum charging efficiency. In this work, the usual Perturb & Observe (P&O) algorithm for designing MPPT charger for conventional batteries has been significantly modified in case of VRFB charge controller by including the real time control of flow rate along with the charging current. The proposed charging algorithm has been validated by a practical 1 kW 6 h VRFB system operation. The modified MPPT based three stage constant current constant voltage (CC-CV) charging topology is found to be the most efficient for VRFB charging from solar PV. Solar MPPT charging of VRFB with a constant flow rate leads to premature thermal shut down of the charge controller resulting incomplete charging of VRFB which is prevented by the use of dynamic flow control integrated solar PV MPPT charging. Two practical case studies of sunny weather and cloudy weather conditions have been adopted for validation of the integrated MPPT charge controller. The proposed VRFB charging system is a generalised one and thus can be very useful for large scale VRFB application in solar PV power systems.

Implementation of INC MPPT and CV Charging Using LLC Resonant Converter for Solar Streetlight System

Most existing stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) power systems employ pulse-width-modulated (PWM) DC–DC converters for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and battery charging control. However, PWM converters experience high switching loss and high electromagnetic interference when operating at high frequency. Therefore, this paper presents an incremental conductance (INC)-based MPPT with constant voltage (CV) charging using LLC resonant converter for stand-alone solar streetlight system. INC MPPT maximizes the PV power generation while CV charging ensures good battery charging characteristics. Both the INC MPPT and CV charging are implemented in an algorithm using an Arduino Uno board. Detailed design procedure as well as extensive design considerations for a 100[Formula: see text]W prototype LLC resonant converter are presented. Experimental results show good MPPT performance under various environmental conditions such as sudden rise or sudden drop of incident irradiance. Furthermore, the system shows exceptional robustness in toggling between INC MPPT mode and CV charging mode depending on the environmental conditions. The converter displays excellent switching operation by achieving primary-side zero voltage switching and secondary-side zero current switching for the entire design range.

A Transportable Photovoltaic Power Generation System Utilizing a SiC Inverter and Spherical Si Solar Cells

This paper reports a 100-W class transportable photovoltaic (PV) power generation system built with SiC power devices. Conventionally, studies on SiC power converters have mostly focused on multi-kW applications. In this paper, we have verified the feasibility of the SiC power devices for sub-kW PV power generation systems. The developed PV power generation system consisted of a spherical Si solar cell module, a 150-W SiC PV-inverter unit with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) function, and a 12-V Li-ion battery. The total weight of the system was just 4.3 kg. Conversion efficiencies of the MPPT charge controller and the direct current-alternating current converter reached 98.0% and 88.4%, respectively. The developed system exhibited stable output power characteristics, even when the weather conditions were fluctuated. These compactness, high efficiencies, and excellent stability clearly indicated the feasibility of SiC power devices even for sub-kW class PV power generation systems. This kind of system would be available for the applications where compactness and transportability are of tremendous importance.

Design of High Efficient MPPT Solar Inverter

This work aims to design a High Efficient Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Solar Inverter. A boost converter is designed in the system to boost the power from the photovoltaic panel. By this experimental setup a room consisting of 500 Watts load (eight fluorescent tubes) is completely controlled. It is aimed to decrease the maintenance cost. A microcontroller is introduced for tracking the P&O (Perturb and Observe) algorithm used for tracking the maximum power point. The duty cycle for the operation of the boost convertor is optimally adjusted by using MPPT controller. There is a MPPT charge controller to charge the battery as well as fed to inverter which runs the load. Both the P&O scheme with the fixed variation for the reference current and the intelligent MPPT algorithm were able to identify the global Maximum power point, however the performance of the MPPT algorithm was better.

Experimental verification of the rate of charge improvement using photovoltaic MPPT hardware for the battery and ultracapacitor storage devices

The paper displays the experimental charging of the battery and the ultracapacitor (UC) energy storage devices utilizing the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and the Non-MPPT strategies with the photovoltaic solar panels. Normally in the standalone frameworks, the batteries are the workforce yet the applications that demand peak currents, the ultracapacitors apart from these batteries can serve better. With high power density UCs, the twofold advantage of battery energy density and ultracapacitor power density is achievable. The batteries and the ultracapacitors are charged as separate energy storage devices utilizing the Non-MPPT charging first and after that by the MPPT charging strategies. A comparison is made between two charging methods for these energy storage devices. The efficiency improvement, the charging rate improvement and the payback period calculations are performed. 1.2V Ni-MH batteries, 12V lead-acid batteries and 12V, 20F UCs are tested by above said two methods. Moreover, a test bench is created to perform the simulations in Matlab/Simulink®. The simulated and experimented results demonstrate the higher level of matching and the overall improvement in the charging rate is quite significant utilizing the MPPT strategies for the batteries and the UCs.

Storage-Less and Converter-Less Photovoltaic Energy Harvesting With Maximum Power Point Tracking for Internet of Things

Energy harvesting from natural environment gives range of benefits for the Internet of things. Scavenging energy from photovoltaic (PV) cells is one of the most practical solutions in terms of power density among existing energy harvesting sources. PV power systems mandate the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to scavenge the maximum possible solar energy. In general, a switching-mode power converter, an MPPT charger, controls the charging current to the energy storage element (a battery or equivalent), and the energy storage element provides power to the load device. The mismatch between the maximum power point (MPP) current and the load current is managed by the energy storage element. However, such architecture causes significant energy loss (typically over 20%) and a significant weight/volume and a high cost due to the cascaded power converters and the energy storage element. This paper pioneers a converter-less PV power system with the MPPT that directly supplies power to the load without the power converters or the energy storage element. The proposed system uses a nonvolatile microprocessor to enable an extremely fine-grain dynamic power management in a few hundred microseconds. This makes it possible to match the load current with the MPP current. We present detailed modeling, simulation, and optimization of the proposed energy harvesting system including the radio frequency transceiver. Experiments show that the proposed setup achieves an 87.1% of overall system efficiency during a day, 30.6% higher than the conventional MPPT methods in actual measurements, and thus a significantly higher duty cycle under a weak solar irradiance.

Single Sensor Charging System with MPPT Capability for Standalone Streetlight Applications

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and battery charging control are two important functions for a solar battery charger. The former improves utilization of the available solar energy, while the latter ensures a prolonged battery life. Nevertheless, complete implementation of both functions can be complex and costly, especially for low voltage application such as standalone street lamps. In this paper, the operation of a solar battery charger for standalone street light systems is investigated. Using only one voltage sensor, the solar charger is able to operate in both MPPT and constant voltage (CV) charging mode, hence providing high performance at a low cost. Using a lab prototype and a solar simulator, the operation of the charger system is demonstrated and its performance under varying irradiance is validated.

Power Gain and Daily Improvement Factor in Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems With Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Regulators. Case of Study: South of Spain

The performance reliability of a stand-alone photovoltaic system (SAPV) depends on the long-term performance of the batteries. In this way, a charge controller becomes an essential device which not only prevents the batteries from suffering deep discharges and overvoltages but also monitors the battery state of charge (SOC) in order to maximize charging efficiency and energy availability. At present, pulse width modulated (PWM) charge regulators dominate the market for this type of component in SAPV systems. However, in recent years, to improve energy management, more manufacturers have developed controllers with strategies for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). PWM charge controllers do not always make optimum use of the available power given by the maximum power point and this gives a loss of power. These power losses depend on battery voltage, irradiance and temperature. However, they can be avoided by using a MPPT charge controller which operates the array at its maximum power point under a range of operating conditions, as well as regulating battery charging. The advantage, in terms of energy gain, provided by this type of charge regulator depends on weather conditions. This paper will study the power gain provided by this type of charge controller, depending on the module temperature and the battery voltage. The paper will, additionally, provide a study of the gain in energy yield, also shown as improvement factor, F, for SAPV systems installed in Jaén (South of Spain). This study may illustrate the behavior of these two types of charge controllers in warm weathers, like Mediterranean climates. Furthermore, it will analyze the suitability of MPPT charge controllers and their benefits in this type of climate. It will be shown that MPPT charge regulator global efficiency constitutes a key issue in making a choice between MPPT and PWM charge regulators. The results given here may be not only of interest for SAPV systems with no access to the electricity grid but also for battery back-up PV grid-connected PV (GCPV) systems.