TITLE:
Design and Development of Maximum Power Point Tracker for Solar Module Using Microcontroller
AUTHORS:
M. Tabassum, M. A. Aziz Jahan, N. Jahan, M. M. Rahman, M. N. Sadik
KEYWORDS:
Maximum Power Point (MPP), Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), Photovoltaic (PV), PV Converter
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.4 No.5,
May
3,
2017
ABSTRACT: The main objective of this
paper is to design and develop a Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) for solar
modules using microcontroller. Maintaining a solar panel or an array of panels
without an MPPT will often result in power loss, which in return requires
installing more panels for the same power requirement. This will also result in
premature battery failure or capacity loss. This is why the controllers of all
solar power system should employ some method for maximum power point tracking
(MPPT). Over the past decades many MPPT techniques have been published. In this
paper, it is shown that a hardware based system has been designed using microcontroller. First based on the Perturb & Observe
(P&O) MPPT algorithm, a complete code has been written and burnt into
microcontroller IC. Then the whole system has been designed using buck boost
converter and Hall sensor. The microcontroller takes the voltage and current
output from the PV module and determines the maximum power point of the PV module.
If we want to use the output power of the module to charge a battery, the MPPT
will operate the PV module in its maximum power point despite the varying
voltage level of the battery as well as the variation of solar radiation. The
performance of the developed system has been studied and found working
satisfactorily.