Ahteshamul Haque

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Scheme for Solar Photovoltaic System

Abstract 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 photovoltaic (PV) cells are used to convert solar energy into unregulated electrical energy. These solar PV cells exhibit nonlinear 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. The behavior of MPPT schemes under continually changing atmospheric conditions is critical. It leads to two conditions, i.e., rapid change in solar irradiation and partial shading due to clouds, etc. Also, the behavior of MPPT schemes under changed load condition becomes significant to analyze. This article aims to address the issue of the conventional P&O MPPT scheme under increase solar irradiation condition and its behavior under changed load condition. The modified MPPT scheme is implemented in the control circuit of a DC–DC converter. The simulation study is done using PSIM simulation software. A prototype unit is tested with artificial light setup on a solar PV panel to simulate the changed solar irradiation condition. The results of the modified MPPT scheme are compared with existing schemes. The modified MPPT scheme works fast and gives improved results under change of solar irradiation. Furthermore, the steady state oscillations are also reduced.

Solar energy harvesting wireless sensor network nodes: A survey

Solar energy harvesting that provides an alternative power source for an energy-constrained wireless sensor network (WSN) node is completely a new idea. Several developed countries like Finland, Mexico, China, and the USA are making research efforts to provide design solutions for challenges in renewable energy harvesting applications. The small size solar panels suitably connected to low-power energy harvester circuits and rechargeable batteries provide a loom to make the WSN nodes completely self-powered with an infinite network lifetime. Recent advancements in renewable energy harvesting technologies have led the researchers and companies to design and innovate novel energy harvesting circuits for traditional battery powered WSNs, such as Texas Instruments Ultra Low Energy Harvester and Power Management IC bq25505 [see https://store.ti.com/BQ25505 for Texas Instruments (TI) Ultra Low Power Boost Charger IC bq25505 with Battery Management and Autonomous Power Multiplexor for Primary Battery in Energy Harvester Applications datasheets (2015).]. In modern days, the increasing demand of smart autonomous sensor nodes in the Internet of Things applications (like temperature monitoring of an industrial plant over the internet, smart home automation, and smart cities) requires a detailed literature survey of state of the art in solar energy harvesting WSN (SEH-WSN) for researchers and design engineers. Therefore, we present an in-depth literature review of Solar cell efficiency, DC-DC power converters, Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithms, solar energy prediction algorithms, microcontrollers, energy storage (battery/supercapacitor), and various design costs for SEH-WSNs. As per our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive literature survey of SEH-WSNs.

Design of optimum controller for electronic control system of Metal Halide-High Intensity Discharge Lamps

Energy crisis has now become a global concern. Research at various levels is on to save energy in almost every field. Artificial lighting is one of the areas where tremendous amount of energy is consumed. Metal Halide (MH) High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lamps are very famous in artificial lighting system because of its energy saving features as these lamps have very high luminous efficacy. The operation of MH lamps is complex and with the ageing affects the impedance of these lamp changes. Due to this change MH lamps draw power more than its rated value. It may lead to safety concerns for the end user. To overcome these complexities electronic control systems (ECS) is required for controlling its operation. ECS is power electronics based circuit, designed to fulfill the electrical characteristics of MH lamps. The controller used in ECS plays key role to identify the MH lamp stage and regulate the lamp power. In this paper the design of controller along with half bridge inverter and LCC resonant is studied. The simulation is done using PSIM simulation software.

Performance Evaluation of DC MicroGrid Using Solar PV Module

This paper presents the performance parameters of DC microgrid system using solar photovoltaic module. The solar power is fed through DC–DC boost converter, which is also equipped with MPPT to extract maximum solar energy. Boost converter connected along with PV module and Li-ion battery boosts up output voltage to the desired value, which is being fed to the DC bus. In order to obtain the highest efficiency and highest output power, MPPT is essential to drive the system till maximum power point. The voltage across DC bus is maintained to a certain desired value so that load can be applied to the circuit. Comparison and validation of DC output voltage are done by changing the load (resistive and inductive). Reduction of ripples in the DC output voltage is done by connecting inductors and capacitors in series and parallel, respectively. Three-phase AC source is also used and converted to DC by rectifier. Buffer circuits are used to handle the instantaneous power imbalance between source and load of the entire circuit. The system is modeled in the PSIM software, and the results obtained show that the ripples in resistive load are less as compared to the inductive load.

Three-Phase PLLs for Utility Grid-Interfaced Inverters Using PSIM

This paper deals with the simulation model of synchronous rotating reference frame and trigonometric phase lock loop (PLL). For grid-connected inverters, a synchronization control technique is required for maintaining high power quality and efficiency of the system. There are many phase lock loop algorithms used for synchronization like enhanced PLL, power PLL, quadrature-based PLL. This paper presents two phase lock loops for utility grid-connected inverters. The circuits are simulated using PSIM simulation package, the generated phase angle of the PLL as its output is converted into a sine wave by adding a sine block, and results have been analyzed and discussed by the suitable input and output waveforms.

Modeling and Optimisation of a Solar Energy Harvesting System for Wireless Sensor Network Nodes

The Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are the basic building blocks of today’s modern internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure in smart buildings, smart parking, and smart cities. The WSN nodes suffer from a major design constraint in that their battery energy is limited and can only work for a few days depending upon the duty cycle of operation. The main contribution of this research article is to propose an efficient solar energy harvesting solution to the limited battery energy problem of WSN nodes by utilizing ambient solar photovoltaic energy. Ideally, the Optimized Solar Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Network (SEH-WSN) nodes should operate for an infinite network lifetime (in years). In this paper, we propose a novel and efficient solar energy harvesting system with pulse width modulation (PWM) and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for WSN nodes. The research focus is to increase the overall harvesting system efficiency, which further depends upon solar panel efficiency, PWM efficiency, and MPPT efficiency. Several models for solar energy harvester system have been designed and iterative simulations were performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK for solar powered DC-DC converters with PWM and MPPT to achieve optimum results. From the simulation results, it is shown that our designed solar energy harvesting system has 87% efficiency using PWM control and 96% efficiency ( η s y s ) by using the MPPT control technique. Finally, an experiment for PWM controlled SEH-WSN is performed using Scientech 2311 WSN trainer kit and a Generic LM2575 DC-DC buck converter based solar energy harvesting module for validation of simulation results.

A present and future state-of-the-art development for energy- efficient buildings using PV systems

ABSTRACT The power industry is facing a great deal of ample generation, and with constant fluctuations in load on a daily basis, the focus lies on meeting the requirement of peak load especially during peak hours. To understand this phenomenon and satisfy the urge to identify the primary consumers, as per the studies carried out, 60% of the load is due to Heating, Ventilation, and Air-conditioning systems and the remaining is accounted for by the lighting load. In this paper, the issues regarding the power demand and supply of energy-efficient buildings are presented. Attempts are made to review the different research works carried out in the field of economic analysis, thermal and solar modeling of the domestic and commercial buildings with the use of a renewable energy source, especially solar energy. Results provide a better understanding of the thermal modeling in buildings and depict an adaptive solution for load profile requirement and reduction of power dissipation.

A simple and effective control of single phase solar inverter

In this paper, a single phase effective closed loop control for solar inverter is proposed. As solar irradiance level changes with atmospheric conditions, output of the inverter varies. To maintain the output voltage of the inverter constant a close loop is implemented using PWM technique. A PWM signal is generated by comparing the output of PI controller with two identical triangular signals having a phase difference of 180°. The output voltage is constant within ±0.5% of reference value. The circuit is validated using PSIM software. The simulated AC output waveform has THD within 2%.

3 – Solar energy

The Sun is the biggest source of energy for our planet. This energy is known as solar energy. The lifecycle of many creatures on Earth is not possible without solar energy. From ancient times attempts have been made by human beings to trap and use this energy in applications like heating, etc. Due to the lack of technology and limited resources solar energy was not used much in the past. With the advancement of electrical engineering, it has now become possible to utilize solar energy as electrical energy. The demand for electrical energy is increasing exponentially. The conventional fossil fuels are used to meet this demand. These fossil fuels have limited reservoirs and emit greenhouse gases. This leads to serious concerns of energy crises and climate-related threats. Among all renewable energy sources, solar energy has received tremendous attention from researchers as it is available in abundance and free of cost all across the globe, and has limited safety concerns. The objective of this chapter is to describe the fundamentals of utilizing solar energy for use in a solar passive energy system and for electrical energy using solar photovoltaics.

AC–DC converters (rectifiers)

Power electronic converters play a major role in renewable energy systems. These converters are used to regulate and shape an electrical signal in the required form. Among these converters, AC–DC converters, commonly known as rectifiers, are used extensively in renewable energy systems such as grid-connected DC microgrids, grid-connected solar photovoltaic energy conversion systems, etc. The main objective of this chapter is to elaborate the working principle of major types of rectifiers. The types discussed are single-phase, three-phase full-bridge controlled, and uncontrolled rectifiers with resistive and inductive load. The workings of these converters are discussed with mathematical expressions and solved examples. The performance parameters are also discussed. Other topics covered in this chapter are pulse width modulated rectifiers and filters for AC–DC converters.