ABSTRACT
Every solar panel has a maximum operating power. However, when solar panels are directly connected to a battery, the panels are usually forced to operate at the battery voltage. This is almost always below the maximum power point of the panels, thereby causing panel under-utilization. To overcome this problem, maximum power point trackers (MPPT) have been developed. In this thesis, a technical comparative analysis is done between two commonly implemented MPPT (Perturb & Observe and Incremental Conductance) algorithms to ensure efficient maximum power point tracking. This is done by modelling a maximum power point tracker (MPPT) and integrating it into a PV system in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. These two direct MPPT algorithms are then implemented under changing solar irradiation and load conditions. From the simulations, when starting from 0 second, the P&O algorithm reaches the Pmpp of 1969 W at 26ms, while INC reaches the Pmpp of 1965 W at 49ms. In addition, when there is a change in the AC loads connected to the PV system, it took exactly 35ms for both algorithms to reach the Pmpp of 2488 W. However, when both algorithms reached their Pmpp values, INC shows more stability than the P&O. The P&O shows ripples even at steady irradiance states, although the ripples are more evident when the irradiance is changing. From the results displayed, it can, therefore, be concluded that the P&O algorithm will be more suited to applications where attaining the Pmpp within a relatively short time is a necessity, while INC should be applied where performance is of great importance.
Support the magazine and subscribe to the content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
