Solar energy is becoming popular and has drawn lots of attention from researchers nowadays. However, the output power of the photovoltaic (PV) arrays varies with solar irradiation and temperature, which affect the efficiency of PV arrays. Therefore, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) IntroductionFulfilling the energy demand from the people all over the world would be not enough if the energy sources are only limited to utilization of non-renewable sources such as fuel, gas and coal. Besides, most non-renewable energies cause pollution and less non-environmentally friendly. Hence, renewable energies are introduced in the past two decades to fulfill the energy demand. One of the popular renewable energies is solar energy which is extracted by converting sunlight into electrical power using the photovoltaic system. However, the conversion efficiency is relatively low with the range of only from 12% up to 20%, and it is highly dependent on the solar irradiation and panel temperature [1]. Thus, in this paper, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control technique is explained which can increase the efficiency of the overall Photovoltaic (PV) system by extracting the maximum available power from the PV arrays [1][2][3].There are many MPPT techniques that have been introduced and elaborated extensively by researchers. Reference [4] stated that at least 19 distinct methods have been promoted, developed and implemented to improve solar photovoltaic. Each method differs in theirs complexity, number of sensors used, cost and effectiveness.The simplest technique that can be used is fixed duty cycle method [5] since it does not need any feedback to be implemented; but when the operation environment changes, the efficiency will become low. Fractional open circuit voltage (OCV) and fractional short circuit current (SCC) are also said to be the easiest offline methods for MPPT [3,4], [6][7][8]. As for the OCV method, the voltage at MPP (V MPP ) is approximately equal to the open circuit voltage (V OC ) of PV array with the factor of k 1 such that V MPP ≈ k 1 V OC , where k 1 ranges between 0.71 and 0.78 [9]. Similar with SCC method, the current at MPP (I MPP ) is approximately linearly related to the short circuit current (I SC ) of PV array, such that IMPP ≈ k 2 I SC, where k 2 ranges between 0.78 and 0.9 [4]. Regardless of their simplicity, the Maximum Power Point (MPP) obtained from these methods is not true due to the imprecise MPP tracking. Plus, the constants k 1 and k 2 are not valid during partial shading condition. It have been improved by sweeping the PV array voltage or current in order to update k 1 and k 2 , respectively. However, sweeping leads to complexity and incurs more power loss.
To have an efficient Photovoltaic (PV) system, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique is essential. Perturb and Observe (P&O) MPPT is not a new algorithm in the field of solar energy; nevertheless, it is said to be the simplest and low cost method for MPPT technique. However, its major drawbacks -steady state oscillation problem and failure to track maximum power point (MPP) under partial shading condition cause the PV system to become less efficient. Thus, this paper proposes a modified P&O MPPT that can be used under partial shading condition efficiently, by adding a simple checking algorithm to the P&O algorithm, in which the global maximum power point (MPP) is tracked first before the P&O algorithm takes place to produce optimum duty cycle for the boost converter. A Simulink model and simulation results from MATLAB/Simulink are also presented.
<p>Sun irradiation levels and associated temperature changes are the main factors that influence the conversion of solar energy into electricity. Most energy is produced during a hot sunny day as the sun irradiation is at the maximum level and uniform throughout the solar photovoltaic (PV). However, most solar PV were frequently get shadowed, completely or partially, by the neighbouring buildings, trees and passing clouds. Consequently, the solar PV has lower voltage and current output; hence, multiple maximum power points (MPP) are existed on the PV curve, which could cause confusion to the conventional Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) to track the true MPP for the PV system. Thus, it is important to examine the impacts of partial shading on the solar PV in order to extract the maximum possible power. This paper presents a MATLAB-based modelling for simulation and experimental setup to study the I-V and P-V characteristics of a solar module under a non-uniform irradiation due to partial shading condition (PSC). Furthermore, this study is also proposed an effective method (a variable step size of P&O with checking algorithm) that is low cost and higher tracking efficiency. Thus, this study is essential in improving and evaluating any new MPPT algorithm under the PSC.</p>
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