M. Carolin Mabel

Maximum power point tracker for a photovoltaic system

The need for renewable energy sources is on the rise because of the acute energy crisis in the world today. The main hindrance for the penetration and reach of solar PV system is its low efficiency and high capital cost. The output characteristics of photovoltaic arrays are nonlinear and change with the cells temperature and solar radiation. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods are used to maximize the PV array output power by tracking continuously the maximum power point. Among all MPPT methods, Perturb and Observe is the most commonly used for its simplicity and ease of implementation. A photovoltaic system has been modeled and analyzed using Matlab/Simulink software. The simulation was compared with and without MPPT. The results validate that MPPT significantly increased the efficiency and performance of the photovoltaic system compared to the system without MPPT.

Extraction of maximum power from photovoltaic system using fuzzy logic control

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms plays an important role in improving the performance of photovoltaic system. A fuzzy based MPPT algorithm is proposed with current controlled DC-DC converter. Two input and single output Sugeno fuzzy system with triangular membership function is used to generate the control current. The proposed method is implemented in MALAB and the maximum power tracking performance is evaluated. The performance of proposed method is compared with conventional perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm and without MPPT technique. The proposed method tracks the maximum operating point with no oscillation and improved accuracy. The simulation results prove the effectiveness of the proposed method.