MPPT Tecnicas.

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 25 (2013) 793–813
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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MPPT techniques for photovoltaic applications

Mohamed A. Eltawil a,c,n, Zhengming Zhao b
a
Agricultural Systems Engineering Department, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. 380, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
b
The State Key Laboratory of Power System, Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
c
Agricultural Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Box 33516, Egypt
art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t
Article history: The photovoltaic (PV) system is one of the renewable energies that attract the attention of researchers in the
Received 23 February 2013 recent decades. The PV generators exhibit nonlinear I–V and P–V characteristics. The maximum power
Accepted 7 May 2013 produced varies with both irradiance and temperature. Since the conversion efficiency of PV arrays is very low,
Available online 26 June 2013
it requires maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control techniques. The maximum power point tracking
Keywords: (MPPT) is the automatic control algorithm to adjust the power interfaces and achieve the greatest possible
MPPT power harvest, during moment to moment variations of light level, shading, temperature, and photovoltaic
PV module characteristics. The purpose of the MPPT is to adjust the solar operating voltage close to the MPP under
Tracking factor for MPP changing atmospheric conditions. It has become an essential component to evaluate the design performance of
Fuzzy logic controller
PV power systems. This investigation aims to assess different MPPT techniques, provide background knowl-
Incremental conductance
edge, implementation topology, grid interconnection of PV and solar microinverter requirements presented in
Perturb and observe
Neural network the literature, doing depth comparisons between them with a brief discussion. The MPPT merits, demerits and
classification, which can be used as a reference for future research related to optimizing the solar power
generation, are also discussed. Conventional methods are easy to implement but they suffer from oscillations at
MPP and tracking speed is less due to fixed perturb step. Intelligent methods are efficient; oscillations are lesser
at MPP in steady state and tracked quickly in comparison to conventional methods.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
2. Maximum power point tracker (MPPT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794
2.1. Problem overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
2.2. MPPT techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
3. Grid connection in urban areas/microinverter requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
1. Introduction PV energy is clean, simple in design requiring very little main-

tenance and their biggest advantage being their construction as stand-
The continuous growth of energy demand from all around the alone systems to give outputs from microwatts to megawatts. Hence
world has urged the society to seek for alternative energies due to the they are used for power source, water pumping, remote buildings,
depletion of conventional energy resources and their undesirable solar home systems, communications, satellites and space vehicles,
impact on environment. Among the available alternative energies, reverse osmosis plants, and for even megawatt scale power plants.
photovoltaic (PV) energy is one of the most promising renewable With such a vast array of applications, the demand for photovoltaics is
energies. increasing every year [1].
However, there are two main drawbacks of PV system, namely
the high installation cost and the low conversion efficiency of PV
n
modules which is only in the range of 9–17%. Besides that, PV
Corresponding author at: Agricultural Engineering Department, Kafrelsheikh
characteristics are nonlinear and weather dependent.
University, Box 33516, Egypt. Tel./fax: +20 47 9102930.
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] Baltas et al. [2] suggested that, instead of tracking the sun
(M.A. Eltawil). continuously, an array could be moved after a time interval such
1364-0321/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.05.022
794 M.A. Eltawil, Z. Zhao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 25 (2013) 793–813
that it was directed to the middle of the sun trajectory during the
next time interval. For south facing fixed tilted array, it has been
found that, the two step tracking configuration produced about
95% of energy to that of continuously tracking system around solar
noon. It was also observed that, the tilt of a south facing array be
optimized to provide more energy during certain months of the
year. A solar PV system could be designed for its optimum output
using the contour plots constructed on the basis of monthly
energy outputs for different panel tilt angles.
Chander et al. [3] observed that about 36% higher annual
energy output could be obtained with a dual axis tracking as
compared to fixed latitude tilted PV system. They developed a
theoretical model to estimate the annual PV energy output from
the array at a given location for any arbitrary orientation, and its
results was comparable with experimental results. Ramamurthy
et al. [4] observed that, a single tracking of PV panel yielded 25%
more energy per day and two axis tracking 35% more energy per
day compared to panels at fixed tilt throughout the day. Fig. 1. PV current versus voltage characteristic.
Snyman and Enslin [5] studied a novel technique for the
improvement of power conversion efficiencies in PV systems with
battery backup. This technique embraces a maximum power point
tracker (MPPT) in series with the PV array and the battery in such
a way that the array current flows through the MPPT and the
battery. The current rating of the MPPT must be at least equal to
the short circuit of the array and the voltage rating must be at
least equal to the open circuit voltage minus the battery voltage.
This technique enables PV system designers to use the highest
possible array voltage and the smallest possible battery (reduction
battery cost).
2. Maximum power point tracker (MPPT)
The MPPT is described as circuitry associated with utility-

interactive inverters (and some larger stand-alone) that continu-
ously adjust the dc operating point to obtain the maximum power
available from a PV array at any given time.
Despite all the advantages presented by the generation of
energy through the use of PVs, the efficiency of energy conversion Fig. 2. Typical current–voltage curve for a PV array.
is currently low and the initial cost for its implementation is still
considered high, and thus it becomes necessary to use techniques
to extract the maximum power from these panels, in order to output and tracking by sampling the power output of the array
achieve maximum efficiency in operation. It should be noted that at frequent intervals (usually 30 ms). It compares each new value
there is only one maximum power point (MPP), and this varies of the array power output with the previous value. If the power
according to climatic and irradiation conditions. output has increased then the array voltage is stepped up in the
The photovoltaic power characteristics is nonlinear, as shown same direction otherwise it remains at the original position.
in Fig. 1, which vary with the level of solar irradiation and Owing to changes in the solar radiation energy and the cell
temperature, which make the extraction of maximum power a operating temperature, the output power of a solar array is not
complex task, considering load variations [6]. To overcome this constant at all times. To overcome this problem, a switch-mode
problem, several methods for extracting the maximum power power converter, called a maximum power point tracker (MPPT),
have been proposed in literature [7–15]. can be used to maintain the PV array's operating point at the MPP
A PV array under constant uniform irradiance has a current– [16–18]. Therefore, works to solve the problems on maximum
voltage (I–V) characteristic like that shown in Fig. 2. There is a power point tracking (MPPT) have always been a hot topic for PV
unique point on the curve, called the maximum power point array utilization systems. The MPPT does this by controlling the PV
(MPP), at which the array operates with maximum efficiency and array's voltage or current independently of those of the load.
produces maximum output power. When a PV array is directly If properly controlled by an MPPT algorithm, the MPPT can locate
connected to a load (a so-called ‘direct-coupled’ system), the and track the MPP of the PV array. However, the location of the
system's operating point will be at the intersection of the I–V MPP in the I–V plane is not known a priori. It must be located,
curve of the PV array and load line shown in Fig. 2. In general, this either through model calculations or by a search algorithm.
operating point is not at the PV array's MPP, which can be clearly The situation is further complicated by the fact that the MPP
seen in the figure. Thus, in a direct-coupled system, the PV array depends in a nonlinear way on irradiance and temperature, as
must usually be oversized to ensure that the load's power illustrated in Fig. 3. Fig. 3(a) shows a main of PV I–V curves under
requirements can be supplied. This leads to an overly expensive increasing irradiance, but at constant temperature, and Fig. 3
system. (b) shows I–V curves at the same irradiance values, but a higher
A maximum power point tracker is a device employing a temperature. Note the change in the array voltage at which the
microprocessor to achieve both function of maximum power MPP occurs.
M.A. Eltawil, Z. Zhao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 25 (2013) 793–813 795
Fig. 3. (a) PV array voltage–current at 40 1C at different irradiance levels and (b) PV array voltage–current at 50 1C at different irradiance levels.
Fig. 6. Characteristic PV array power curve.
Figs. 4 and 5 show the power characteristics of the analyzed PV,

considering the same temperature and solar irradiation, respec-
Fig. 4. PV power characteristic for different irradiation levels. tively. The curves show clearly nonlinear characteristics and they
are strongly influenced by climate changes [6]. The main PV
electrical parameters used are summarized in Table 1.
There are many MPPT methods have been developed and
implemented. The methods vary in complexity, sensors required,
convergence speed, cost, range of effectiveness, implementation
hardware, popularity, and in other respects. They range from the
almost obvious (but not necessarily ineffective) to the most
creative (not necessarily most effective). In fact, so many methods
have been developed that it has become difficult to adequately
determine which method, newly proposed or existing, is most
appropriate for a given PV system.
2.1. Problem overview
Fig. 6 shows the characteristic power curve for a PV array.

The problem considered by MPPT techniques is to automatically
find the voltage VMPP or current IMPP at which a PV array should
operate to obtain the maximum power output PMPP under a given
Fig. 5. PV power characteristic for different temperature levels.
temperature and irradiance.
The MPP voltage has a complicated dependence on both
irradiance and temperature and the point is usually found by the
Table 1 MPP tracker by a trial and error algorithm. The irradiance and
Electrical parameters of the PV.
hence the current can vary rapidly as the sun goes behind
Maximum power Pmax ¼ 200 Wp or comes out from clouds but the module temperature varies
Voltage at MPP VMPP ¼ 26.3 V slowly.
Current at MPP IMPP ¼ 7.61 A It is noted that under partial shading conditions, in some cases
Open circuit voltage VOC ¼32.9 V it is possible to have multiple local maxima, but overall there is
Short circuit current ISC ¼8.21 A
Temperature coefficient of ISC α ¼3.18 10−3 A/1C
still only one true MPP. Most techniques respond to changes in
both irradiance and temperature, but some are specifically more
d(t)
BetaRef
Sub PI
IPV(t)
Divider In
Sub
VPV(t)
Gain
Fig. 7. Implementation of the Beta method.
useful if temperature is approximately constant. Most techniques cycle of perturbation in order to force the operating point
would automatically respond to changes in the array due to aging, moving towards the MPP. When PV power increases and PV
though some are open-loop and would require periodic fine- voltage decreases and vice versa, the perturbation step will
tuning. In our context, the array will typically be connected to a be subtracted for the next cycle of perturbation [42].
power converter that can vary the current coming from the This process will be carried on continuously until MPP is
PV array. reached.
It should be noted that, the system will oscillate around the
2.2. MPPT techniques MPP throughout this process, and this will result in loss of
energy. Therefore, reducing the perturbation step size will
The different techniques of MPPT are described briefly as minimize these oscillations but it slows down the MPP
follows: tracking system [40,41].
Fig. 9 shows the configurations of MPPT algorithms in
(i) Fixed duty cycle Simulink according to the flow chart of P&O method
The fixed duty cycle represents the simplest of the methods explained in Fig. 8.
and it does not require any feedback, where the load The most basic form of the P&O algorithm operates as
impedance is adjusted only once for the maximum power follows. Consider Fig. 10, which shows a family of PV array
point and it is not adjusted again. power curves as a function of voltage (P–V curves), at
(ii) Beta method different irradiance (G) levels, for uniform irradiance and
The Beta method is the approximation of the point of constant temperature. As previously described, these curves
maximum power through the equation of an intermediate have global maxima at the MPP. Assume the PV array to be
variable β. operating at point A in Fig. 10, which is far from the MPP.
In the P&O algorithm, the operating voltage of the PV array is
I PV
β ¼ ln −cV PV ð1Þ perturbed by a small increment, and the resulting change in
V PV
power, ΔP, is measured. If ΔP is positive, then the perturbation
where c¼ q/(s K.T.Ns) is a constant that depends on the of the operating voltage moved the PV array's operating point
electron charge, the quality factor of the junction panel, the closer to the MPP. Thus, further voltage perturbations in the
Boltzmann constant, temperature and amount of photovol- same direction (that is, with the same algebraic sign) should
taic cells in series [19]. As the operating conditions change, move the operating point toward the MPP. If ΔP is negative, the
the value of β at the optimum point remains almost system operating point has moved away from the MPP, and the
constant. Thus, β can be continuously calculated using the algebraic sign of the perturbation should be reversed to move
voltage and current of the panel and inserted on a conven- back toward the MPP.
tional closed loop with constant reference, as shown in The advantages of this algorithm, as stated before, are simplicity
Fig. 7. and ease of implementation. However, P&O has limitations that
(iii) Hill climbing/perturb and observe reduce its MPPT efficiency. One such limitation is that as the
There are several authors focus their work on hill climbing amount of sunlight decreases, the P–V curve flattens out, as
[20–25], while others focus on perturb and observe (P&O) seen in Fig. 10. This makes it difficult for the MPPT to discern
[26–36] methods. Hill climbing involves a perturbation in the location of the MPP, owing to the small change in power
the duty ratio of the power converter, and P&O a perturba- with respect to the perturbation of the voltage. Another
tion in the operating voltage of the PV array. In the case of a fundamental drawback of P&O is that it cannot determine
PV array connected to a power converter, perturbing the when it has actually reached the MPP. Instead, it oscillates
duty ratio of power converter perturbs the PV array current around the MPP, changing the sign of the perturbation after
and consequently perturbs the PV array voltage. Hill climb- each ΔP measurement. Also, it has been shown that P&O can
ing and P&O methods are different ways to envision the exhibit erratic behavior under rapidly changing irradiance levels
same fundamental method. [38]. Fig. 11 shows a close-up view of the solar array P–V
The perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm is the most characteristic near the MPP. Consider the case in which the
commonly used in practice because of its ease of imple- irradiance is such that it generates P–V curve 1 in Fig. 11. The
mentation [37]. Fig. 8 shows the flow chart of P&O method. MPPT is oscillating around the MPP from point B to A to C to A
It perturbs the PV array's terminal voltage periodically, and and so on. Then, assume the irradiance increases and the P–V
then it compares the PV output power with that of the curve of the array moves to curve 2. If, during the rapid increase
previous cycle of perturbation [38–41]. in solar irradiance and output power, the MPPT was perturbing
As shown in Fig. 8, when PV power and PV voltage increase the operating point from point A to point B, the MPPT would
at the same time and vice versa, a perturbation step size, ΔD actually move from A to D. As seen in Fig. 11, this result in a
will be added to the duty cycle, D to generate the next positive ΔP, and the MPPT will continue perturbing in the same
Fig. 8. Flow chart of perturb and observe method (P&O) [38].
Fig. 9. Configurations of MPPT algorithms in Simulink for perturb and observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm [21].
Fig. 10. Photovoltaic array power–voltage relationship.
Fig. 11. Illustration of erratic behavior of P&O under rapidly increasing irradiance
direction, toward point F. If the irradiance is still rapidly [18].
increasing, the PV power curve will move to G on curve
3 instead of to F on curve 2. Again the MPPT will see a positive
ΔP and will assume it is moving toward the MPP, continuing to
perturb to point I. From points A to D to G to I the MPPT is Table 2
Summary of hill climbing and P&O algorithm [44].
continually moving away from the MPP, decreasing the effi-
ciency of the P&O algorithm. This situation can occur on partly Perturbation Charge in power Next perturbation
cloudy days, when MPP tracking is most difficult, owing to the
frequent movement of the MPP. Positive Positive Positive
There are several improvements of the P&O algorithm have Positive Negative Negative
Negative Positive Negative
been proposed, and one of the simplest entails the addition of a Negative Negative Positive
‘waiting’ function that causes a momentary cessation of
perturbations if the algebraic sign of the perturbation is constant, a perturbation ΔV in the PV voltage V will bring the
reversed several times in a row, indicating that the MPP has operating point to B and the perturbation will be reversed due
been reached. This reduces the oscillation about the MPP in the to a decrease in power. However, if the irradiance increases and
steady state and improves the algorithm’s efficiency under shifts the power curve from P1 to P2 within one sampling
constant irradiance conditions. However, it also makes the period, the operating point will move from A to C.
MPPT slower to respond to changing atmospheric conditions, This represents an increase in power and the perturbation is
worsening the erratic behavior on partly cloudy days. Another kept the same. Consequently, the operating point diverges from
modification involves measuring the array’s power P1 at array the MPP and will keep diverging if the irradiance steadily
voltage V1, perturbing the voltage and again measuring the increases. To ensure that the MPP is tracked even under sudden
array’s power, P2, at the new array voltage V2, and then changes in irradiance, Hsiao and Chen [46], use a three-point
changing the voltage back to its previous value and re- weight comparison P&O method that compares the actual
measuring the array’s power, P1′, at V1. From the two measure- power point to two preceding ones before a decision is made
ments at V1, the algorithm can determine whether the irra- about the perturbation sign. Femia et al [33], have been
diance is changing. Again, as with the previous modifications, optimized the sampling, while in [35], simply a high sampling
increasing the number of samples of the array's power slows rate is used. Xiao and Dunford [25], have introduced a toggling
the algorithm down. Also, it is possible to use the two between the traditional hill climbing algorithm and a modified
measurements at V1 to make an estimate of how much the adaptive hill climbing mechanism to prevent deviation from
irradiance has changed between sampling periods, and to use the MPP.
this estimate in deciding how to perturb the operating point. Kasa et al. [36] estimated the PV array current from the PV array
This, however increases the complexity of the algorithm, and voltage, eliminating the need for a current sensor. Digital signal
also slows the operation of the MPPT [18]. processor (DSP) or microcomputer control is more suitable for
From Fig. 6, it can be seen that incrementing (decrementing) hill climbing and P&O even though discrete analog and digital
the voltage increases (decreases) the power when operating on circuitry can be used as in [21].
the left of the MPP and decreases (increases) the power when (iv) Incremental conductance
on the right of the MPP. Therefore, if there is an increase in The incremental conductance (IncCond) algorithm is deri-
power, the subsequent perturbation should be kept the same to ved by differentiating the PV array power with respect to
reach the MPP and if there is a decrease in power, the voltage and setting the result equal to zero [49]. This is
perturbation should be reversed. This algorithm is summarized shown in the following equation:
in Table 2. dP dðV IÞ dI
D’Souza et al. [35], pointed out that the algorithm also works ¼ ¼IþV ¼ 0 at the MPP ð2Þ
dV dV dV
when instantaneous (instead of average) PV array voltage and
current are used, as long as sampling occurs only once in each Rearranging Eq. (2) gives
switching cycle. The process is repeated periodically until the I dI
− ¼ ð3Þ
MPP is reached. The system then oscillates about the MPP. The V dV
oscillation can be minimized by reducing the perturbation step Note that the left-hand side of Eq. (3) represents the
size. However, a smaller perturbation size slows down the opposite of the PV array’s instantaneous conductance, while
MPPT. A solution to this conflicting situation is to have a the right-hand side represents its incremental conductance.
variable perturbation size that gets smaller towards the MPP
as shown in [25,29,32,33]. In [35], fuzzy logic control is used to
optimize the magnitude of the next perturbation. In [13], a two-
stage algorithm is proposed that offers faster tracking in the
first stage and finer tracking in the second stage. On the other
hand, Tafticht and Agbossou [45], bypasses the first stage by
using a nonlinear equation to estimate an initial operating point
close to the MPP.
Hill climbing and P&O methods can fail under rapidly changing
atmospheric conditions as illustrated in Fig. 12. Starting from an
operating point A, if atmospheric conditions stay approximately
Fig. 12. Divergence of hill climbing/P&O from MPP [26,43]. Fig. 13. Incremental conductance algorithm flowchart [26,48].
Thus, at the MPP, these two quantities must be equal in oscillate about it instead; so there is a tradeoff.
magnitude, but opposite in sign. If the operating point is off Kobayashi et al. [49] proposed a method that brings the
of the MPP, a set of inequalities can be derived from Eq. (3) operating point of the PV array close to the MPP in a first
that indicates whether the operating voltage is above or stage and then uses IncCond to exactly track the MPP in a
below the MPP voltage. second stage. Through proper control of the power con-
These relationships [47] are summarized in the following verter, the initial operating point is set to match a load
equations: resistance proportional to the ratio of the open-circuit
voltage (VOC) to the short-circuit current (ISC) of the PV
dI I dP
¼− ; ¼ 0 ; at MPP ð4aÞ array. This two-stage alternative also ensures that the real
dV V dV
MPP is tracked in case of multiple local maxima.

dI I dP Measurements of the instantaneous PV array voltage and
4 ; 40 ; left of MPP ð4bÞ current require two sensors. The IncCond method lends
dV V dV
itself well to DSP and microcontroller control, which can

dI I dP easily keep track of previous values of voltage and current
o ; o0 ; right of MPP ð4cÞ
dV V dV and make all the decisions as per Fig. 13.
(v) Constant voltage and current
Eq. (4a) is a repeat of Eq. (3) for convenience. Eqs. (4b) and The basis for the constant voltage (CV) algorithm is the
(4c) are used to determine the direction in which a pertur- observation from I–V curves like those in Fig. 1 that the ratio
bation must occur to move the operating point toward the of the array’s maximum power voltage, VMPP, to its open-
MPP, and the perturbation is repeated until Eq. (4a) is circuit voltage, VOC, is approximately constant; in other
satisfied. Once the MPP is reached, the MPPT continues to words:
operate at this point until a change in current is measured.
V MPP
This change in current will correlate to a change in irra- ≅K o 1 ð5Þ
V OC
diance on the array.
As the irradiance on the array increases, the MPP moves to
the right with respect to the array voltage, as shown in The constant voltage algorithm can be implemented using
Fig. 10. To compensate for this movement of the MPP, the the flowchart shown in Fig. 14. The solar array is temporarily
MPPT must increase the array’s operating voltage. isolated from the MPPT, and a VOC measurement is taken.
The opposite is true when a decrease in irradiance is Next, the MPPT calculates the correct operating point using
detected (via a decrease in the measured current). Eq. (5) and the preset value of K, and adjusts the array’s
From the above mentioned it is clear that, the IncCond voltage until the calculated VMPP is reached. This operation is
[26,48] method is based on the fact that the slope of the PV repeated periodically to track the position of the MPP.
array power curve (Fig. 10) is zero at the MPP, positive on Although this method is extremely simple, it is difficult to
the left of the MPP, and negative on the right. choose the optimal value of the constant K. The literature
Fig. 13 shows a flowchart for the incremental conductance reports success with K values ranging from 73% to 80%
algorithm [49]. The present value and the previous value of [10–12]. Fig. 15 shows the actual K values required for a
the solar array voltage and current are used to calculate the given PV array over a temperature range of 0–60 1C and
values of dI and dV. If dV¼0 and dI¼ 0, then the atmospheric irradiance levels from 200 to 1000 W/m2.
conditions have not changed and the MPPT is still operating These curves were calculated using the I–V relationship for a
at the MPP. If dV¼0 and dI40, then the amount of sunlight PV cell given in the following equations:
has increased, raising the MPP voltage.
q
This requires the MPPT to increase the PV array operating I ¼ I L −I OS exp ðV þ IRÞ−1 ð6Þ
AkB T
voltage to track the MPP. Conversely, if dIo0, the amount of
sunlight has decreased, lowering the MPP voltage and
requiring the MPPT to decrease the PV array operating
voltage. If the changes in voltage and current are not zero,
the relationships in Eqs. (4b) and (4c) can be used to Isolate array Record open circuit Calculate VMPP from
determine the direction in which the voltage must be from MPPT array voltage percentage of VOC
changed in order to reach the MPP. If dI/dV4I ¼V, then
dP/dV40, and the PV array operating point is to the left of
Vary array operating voltage
the MPP on the P–V curve. Thus, the PV array voltage must Wait X seconds
until VMPP is reached
be increased to reach the MPP. Similarly, if dI/dVoI ¼V, then
dP/dVo0 and the PV array operating point lies to the right Fig. 14. Constant voltage algorithm flowchart [18].
of the MPP on the P–V curve, meaning that the voltage must
be reduced to reach the MPP. Herein lies a primary advan-
tage of incremental conductance over the perturb-and-
observe algorithm: incremental conductance can actually
calculate the direction in which to perturb the array’s
operating point to reach the MPP, and can determine when
it has actually reached the MPP. Thus, under rapidly chan-
ging conditions, it should not track in the wrong direction,
as P&O can, and it should not oscillate about the MPP once it
reaches it.
The increment size determines how fast the MPP is tracked.
Fast tracking can be achieved with bigger increments but
the system might not operate exactly at the MPP and Fig. 15. VMPP as a percentage of VOC as functions of temperature and irradiance [18].
Fig. 16. Power circuit of proposed converter system [58].

T qEG 1 1
I OS ¼ I OR exp − ð7Þ (vi) Fractional open-circuit voltage
TR AkB T R T The near linear relationship between VMPP and VOC of the PV
array, under varying irradiance and temperature levels, has
G
IL ¼ I SC þ K T;I ðT−T R Þ ð8Þ given rise to the fractional VOC method [51–55].
1000
Eq. (6) is the Shockley equation for an illuminated pn V MPP ≈k1 V OC ð9Þ
junction. A is the diode ideality factor, q is the charge on
an electron, and R is the PV array’s series resistance. (The where k1 is a constant of proportionality. Since k1 is
shunt resistance has been assumed large enough to be dependent on the characteristics of the PV array being used,
accurately approximated as infinite.) Eq. (7) accounts for it usually has to be computed beforehand by empirically
the temperature dependency of the reverse saturation determining VMPP and VOC for the specific PV array at
current IOS. IOS is a function of the reference reverse satura- different irradiance and temperature levels. The factor k1
tion current IOR at the standard test condition reference has been reported to be between 0.71 and 0.78. Once k1 is
temperature TR (25 1C), EG, the bandgap of the semiconduc- known, VMPP can be computed using Eq. (9) taking into
tor used, the measured cell temperature T (1C), Boltzmann’s consideration measuring of VOC periodically by momentarily
constant kB, and the charge on an electron q. Eq. (8) gives shutting down the power converter. But, this incurs some
the light generated current IL as a function of irradiance G disadvantages, including temporary loss of power. Kobaya-
(W/m2), the array’s short-circuit current at standard test shi et al. [49] mentioned that the voltage generated by pn-
conditions ISC, the temperature coefficient for current of the junction diodes is approximately 75% of VOC. This eliminates
array KT,I (A/1C), (which is typically very small), and the the need for measuring VOC and computing VMPP. Once VMPP
array temperature T (1C). Fig. 15 indicates that the ratio K is has been approximated, a closed-loop control on the array
not constant, but in fact depends on temperature and power converter can be used to asymptotically reach this
irradiance and varies by as much as 8% (absolute) over the desired voltage.
entire range of conditions. Since Eq. (29) is only an approximation, the PV array
Constant voltage control can be easily implemented with technically never operates at the MPP. Depending on the
analog hardware. However, its MPPT tracking efficiency is application of the PV system, this can sometimes be ade-
low relative to those of other algorithms. Reasons for this quate. Even if fractional VOC is not a true MPPT technique, it
include the aforementioned error in the value of K, and the is very easy and cheap to implement as it does not
fact that measuring the open-circuit voltage requires a necessarily require DSP or microcontroller control.
momentary interruption of PV power. It is possible to (vii) Modified open-circuit voltage method
dynamically adjust the value of K, but that requires a In this method, the PV array is not temporarily isolated from
search algorithm and essentially ends up being the same MPPT, the open circuit voltage (VOC) is calculated for
as P&O [18]. different values of insolation and temperature [56] by
In [50], it is possible to use a constant current MPPT making use of the following equations:

algorithm that approximates the MPP current as a constant V OCT kv
percentage of the short-circuit current. To implement this C TV ¼ ¼1þ ðT x −T c Þ ð10Þ
V OC V OC
algorithm, a switch is placed across the input terminals of
the converter and switched on momentarily. The short- where kv is the temperature coefficient of VOC. The value of
circuit current is measured and the MPP current is calcu- kv taken is −0.16 V/1C
lated, and the PV array output current is then adjusted by C SV ¼ 1 þ βT αs ðSx −Sc Þ ð11Þ
the MPPT until the calculated MPP current is reached.
This operation is repeated periodically. However, constant where αs ¼ ðdT c =Sx −Sc Þ; dT C is temperature change due to
voltage control is normally favored because of the relative change in irradiation. The values of βT and αs taken are
ease of measuring voltages, and because open-circuiting the 0.0042 and 0.0061 respectively. So overall effect of tem-
array is simple to accomplish, but it is not practically perature and insolation on open circuit voltage is
possible to short-circuit the array and still make a current
measurement. V OCðTGÞ ¼ C TV C SV V OC ð12Þ
There is no shutdown of power converter periodically, hence be noted that the presence of the capacitor Cin across the PV
will not incur any temporary loss of power. panel will not affect the steady state value of the short-
(viii) Pilot cell circuit current measured by the circuit. The load current
In the pilot cell MPPT algorithm, the constant voltage or supplied by the PV panel is sensed by using a small series
current method is used, but the open-circuit voltage or resistor R1. A low-pass filter is used to remove the high-
short-circuit current measurements are made on a small frequency ripple from the sensed output. The duty cycle of
solar cell, called a pilot cell, that has the same characteristics the pulses applied to Mb is adjusted until the actual load
as the cells in the larger solar array [50]. The pilot cell current is equal to the desired fraction of ISC. This will be
measurements can be used by the MPPT to operate the main implemented using a simple current feedback loop. Since
solar array at its MPP, eliminating the loss of PV power the rate of variation of light intensity is low, it is possible to
during the VOC or ISC measurement [57]. achieve a satisfactory response by using a simple propor-
However, the problem of a lack of a constant K value is still tional controller.
present. Also, this method has a logistical drawback in that The output of the bridge inverter is supplied to the grid.
the solar cell parameters of the pilot cell must be carefully In order to keep the duty cycle of Mb within practical limits,
matched to those of the PV array it represents. Thus, each the modulation index of the inverter can be varied. If the
pilot cell/solar array pair must be calibrated, increasing the output voltage of the PV panels is low, a high frequency
energy cost of the system. These pilot cells must be carefully transformer can be inserted between the inverter bridge
chosen to closely represent the characteristics of the and the filter inductor Lo.
PV array. (x) Modified short-circuit current method
(ix) Fractional short-circuit current The short circuit current varies due to temperature and
Several authors [52,55,57] pointed out that the fractional ISC insolation both. The combined effect is taken into account to
results from the fact that, under varying atmospheric con- calculate short circuit current for different conditions of
ditions, IMPP is approximately linearly related to the ISC of the temperature and insolation [56] by using the following
PV array. equations.
I MPP ≈k2 I SC ð13Þ The variation of short circuit current with temperature is
[59],
where k2 is a proportionality constant. Just like in the
fractional VOC technique, k2 has to be determined according I SCT
C TI ¼ ¼ 1 þ kI ðT x −T c Þ ð14Þ
to the PV array in use. The constant k2 is generally found to I SC
be between 0.78 and 0.92.
Measuring ISC during operation is problematic. An additional where value of kI is 0.0006 A/1C.
switch usually has to be added to the power converter to The variation of short circuit current with insolation (S) is
periodically short the PV array so that ISC can be measured [59],
using a current sensor. This increases the number of I SCG SX
components and cost. Bekker and Beukes [55] mentioned C SI ¼ ¼ ð15Þ
I SC SC
that, proper MPPT can be guarantee in the presence of
multiple local maxima by periodically sweeps the PV array
where SX and SC are insolations at variable and reference
voltage from open-circuit to short-circuit to update k2. Most
conditions.
of the PV systems using fractional ISC in the literature use a
The variation of short circuit current with temperature and
DSP.
insolation is [59],
Yuvarajan and Xu [58] proposed a MPP tracking by measur-
ing the short circuit current ISC and adjusting the actual load I SCðTGÞ ¼ C TI C SI I SC ð16Þ
current to be equal to a desired fraction of ISC. The power
circuit of the PV converter is shown in Fig. 16. The scheme is
used to supply 60 Hz ac power to the ac mains and to some There is no shutdown of power converter periodically,
local loads. The dc voltage from the PV panel is stepped up hence will not incur any temporary loss of power.
by the boost converter made up of the inductor Lin switch (xi) Parasitic capacitance/dc-link capacitor droop control
Mb, and diode D1. The output from the boost converter will The parasitic capacitance algorithm is similar to incremental
charge the capacitor Cf. A separate feedback loop is used to conductance, except that the effect of the solar cells' para-
regulate the output voltage of the boost converter by sitic junction capacitance CP, which models charge storage
adjusting the duty cycle of the gate pulses. A reasonably in the p–n junctions of the solar cells, is included. By adding
regulated dc voltage is thus fed to the inverter. Switches M1 this capacitance to the lighted diode equation, Eq. (6), and
to M4 form the bridge inverter for converting the output representing the capacitance using i(t)¼CdV/dt, the follow-
voltage of the boost converter and feeding it into a 60 Hz ac ing equation is obtained [60].
bus. The inductor Lo is used to remove the high-frequency
V p þ RS I dvp dvp
ripple from the output voltage. I ¼ I L −I O exp −1 þ C P ¼ Fðυp Þ þ C P ð17Þ
a dt dt
The current ISC is measured by shorting the panel by turning
on Mb periodically. This is done by applying pulses with a On the far right of Eq. (17), the equation is rewritten to show
width relatively larger than those used for boost action. the two components of I, a function of voltage Fðvp Þ and the
A divide-by-N counter is used obtain these pulses from the current in the parasitic capacitance. Using this notation, the
boost pulses. The voltage across the sensing resistor RS incremental conductance of the array gP can be defined as
represents the short-circuit current. The current pulses dFðvp Þ=dvp and the instantaneous conductance of the array,
sensed during the extended intervals have transient peaks gL can be defined as −Fðvp Þ=vp . The MPP is located at the
in addition to steady state portion. They are further pro- point where dP=dvp ¼ 0. Multiplying Eq. (17) by the array
cessed using a sample- and hold (S/H) circuit. The output of voltage vp to obtain array power and differentiating the
the S/H circuit becomes the short circuit current ISC. It is to result, the equation for the array power at the MPP is
obtained [60]:
!
dFðvp Þ V_ V€ Fðvp Þ
þ CP þ þ ¼0 ð18Þ
dvp V V_ vp
The three terms in Eq. (18) represent the instantaneous

conductance, the incremental conductance, and the induced
ripple from the parasitic capacitance. The first and second
derivatives of the array voltage take into account the ac
ripple components generated by the converter. The reader
will note that if CP is equal to zero, this equation simplifies
to that used for the incremental conductance algorithm.
Since the parasitic capacitance is modeled as a capacitor Fig. 18. Topology for dc-link capacitor droop control as shown in [62].
connected in parallel with the individual solar cells, con-

necting the cells in parallel will increase the effective
capacitance seen by the MPPT. From this, the difference in current going in the inverter increases the power coming out of
MPPT efficiency between the parasitic capacitance and the boost converter and consequently increases the power
incremental conductance algorithms should be at a max- coming out of the PV array. While the current is increasing,
imum in a high-power solar array with many parallel the voltage Vlink can be kept constant as long as the power
modules. required by the inverter does not exceed the maximum power
The array conductance is easily calculated, since it is just the available from the PV array. If that is not the case, Vlink starts
ratio of the instantaneous array current to the instantaneous drooping. Right before that point, the current control command
array voltage. Obtaining the array differential conductance Ipeak of the inverter is at its maximum and the PV array operates
is more difficult, but it can be done [60] using the equation at the MPP. The ac system line current is fed back to prevent
Vlink from drooping and d is optimized to bring Ipeak to its
∞ i v
2 ∑n ¼ 1 ½an an þ bn bn
1 i v
P GP maximum, thus achieving MPPT.
gp ¼ ¼ ∞ v ð19Þ
V 2O v 2
2 ∑n ¼ 1 ½ðan Þ
1
þ ðbn Þ2 dc-Link capacitor droop control does not require the computa-
tion of the PV array power, but according to [62], its response
where PGP is the average ripple power, VO is the magnitude
i v deteriorates when compared to a method that detects the
of the voltage ripple, and ain ; avn ; bn ; bn are the coefficients
power directly; this is because its response directly depends on
of the Fourier series of the PV array voltage and current
the response of the dc-voltage control loop of the inverter.
ripples.
This control scheme can be easily implemented with analog
The values of PGP and V 2O may be obtained from a circuit
operational amplifiers and decision-making logic units.
configuration like that seen in Fig. 17. The inputs to the
The dc link capacitor (Cdc) reduces the voltage ripple in the
circuit are the measured array current and voltage. The
input to the dc–ac inverter and also provides a hold-up time
high-pass filters remove the dc component of VPV.
during which the insolation swings quickly between high and
The two multipliers generate the ac V 2O and ac PGP, which are
low. However the Cdc should not be so high as not to implement
then filtered by the low-pass filters, leaving behind the dc
the MPPT algorithm. The dc link capacitor Cdc is calculated as a
components of V 2O and PGP. From Eq. (19), the ratio of these
function of the desired hold-up time [64]:
two values is equal to the array conductance, which can
then be used in conjunction with Eq. (20) until the array Rated power output hold up time
C dc ≈2 ð21Þ
differential conductance and the array conductance are ðV 2d;nominal −V 2d;min Þη
equal [18].
dc-Link capacitor droop control [61–63] is an MPPT technique
where Vd,min is chosen to be in the range of 60–75% of the
that is specifically designed to work with a PV system that is
nominal input voltage (Vd,nominal) and η is the energy efficiency
connected in parallel with an ac system line as shown in Fig. 18.
of the power supply. The output L filter is used to filter out
The duty ratio of an ideal boost converter is given by
undesired switching frequency components from the output
V current spectrum [65].
d ¼ 1− ð20Þ
V link
Vg
L ¼ pffiffiffi ð22Þ
where V is the voltage across the PV array and Vlink is the 2 6f s iripple−peak
voltage across the dc link. If Vlink is kept constant, increasing the
where Vg is the grid rms phase voltage, and fs is inverter
switching frequency. As for a large scale PV grid-connected
MULT2 system, the LCL filter design is the optimum choice [65].
Vp HP LP (xii) dP/dV or dP/dI feedback control
With DSP and microcontroller being able to handle complex
computations, an obvious way of performing MPPT is to
compute the slope differential power to voltage or differ-
ential power to voltage current (dP/dV or dP/dI) of the PV
power curve (Fig. 6) and feed it back to the power converter
with some control to drive it to zero. This is exactly what is
done in [66,67].
Many of MPPT techniques calculate the reference voltage
Ip HP LP Pgp
according to the power–voltage curves in order to imple-
ment the MPPT strategy. The relation of dP/dV versus V is
MULT1 nonlinear, thus, the various methods of MPPT according to
Fig. 17. Circuitry used to implement the parasitic capacitance method [60]. the relation of dP/dV−V have various deficient such as the
question of complication, non-smoothing, and instability. response of the system. In [67,70], sampling and data
However, the relation between the dP/dV and output cur- conversion are used with subsequent digital division of
rent of the PV array is proved to be almost linear near the power and voltage to approximate dP/dV. In [70], dP/dI is
maximum power point (MPP) region [68]. The new standard then integrated together with an adaptive gain to improve
of IEEE 929-2000 limits the current THD of 5% with a power the transient response. In [67], the PV array voltage is
factor close enough to unity [69]. periodically incremented or decremented and ΔP/ΔV is
The way the slope is computed differs from paper to paper. compared to a marginal error until the MPP is reached.
In [66], dP/dV is computed and its sign is stored for the past In order to meet the requirements of the IEEE 929-2000
few cycles. Based on these signs, the duty ratio of the power standard, a new maximum power point tracking applying
converter is either incremented or decremented to reach the the relation between dP/dV and I of a photovoltaic array
MPP. A dynamic step size is used to improve the transient combined with space vector pulse width modulation
(SVPWM) current-controlled scheme has been proposed
and verified through an experimental 3-phase grid-con-
6
nected PV system [71]. To improve the dynamic response for
Temperature 25oC
over-current protection, a dual-timer scheme for PWM
Insolation 1000 W/m2 carrier and ADC sampling has been developed to greatly
4
decrease the control delay.
Since at MPP the derivative power to voltage is zero
2 Maximum
(dP/dV¼0), [71], the developed MPPT algorithm is based
power point
dP/dV (W/V)
on the characteristic of the PV array’s deferential power to

the voltage which is shown in Fig. 19.
0
The first step is to set up a working voltage whose value
is about 0.8 times of the PV array open voltage. Then
-2 measuring the instantaneous voltage and current of the PV
400
-4
Simulated MPPT control process
-6 Insolation level changed from 300

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 300
to 1000 W/m2
Voltage (p.u.) Temperaure 25oC
Power (W)
Fig. 19. The dP/dV−V curve of PV array [71]. 1000 W/m2

200
300 W/m2
Initially
100
Vref given
Sense 0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90
Vn, In
Dc voltage (V)
Fig. 21. The simulated P–V curves by the MPPT algorithm [71].
P=Pn-Pp
V=Vn-Vp
5
Insolation level changed from 300 to 1000 W/m2 1000 W/m2
P/ V>0
4
No Yes
Dc current (A)
Yes P/ V<0 3
No
2
Sign = -1 Sign = 0 Sign = 1
1 Simulated MPPT control process
Temperature: 25oC 300 W/m2
0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90
Vref(k+1) = Vref(k) + Step × Sign
Dc voltage (V)
Fig. 20. The flowchart of developed MPPT algorithm [71]. Fig. 22. The simulated I–V curves by the MPPT algorithm [71].
array, using the saved previous voltage and current (Vp and Ip)
to calculate the differential values of ΔP and ΔV. The
ΔP/ΔV is calculated by using Newton–Raphson algorithm
which is written in C language fixed-point algorithm for a
TMS320F2812 digital control process. Then judgment:
When the ΔP/ΔV is more than 0, the sign value is set to 1;
When the ΔP/ΔV is less than 0, the sign value is set to −1; Or
else the sign value is set to 0. The reference voltage of the
MPP of the PV array is given as follows:
V ref ðk þ 1Þ ¼ V ref ðkÞ þ Step Sign ð23Þ
where the variable Step is assigned to 0.1 mV and the
frequency of sampling voltage and current of PV array is
0.1 ms. The developed MPPT algorithm can provide the
reference voltage of MPP for PV array quickly and smoothly, Fig. 25. Membership function of V(n).
which reduces the losses of the PV array by using P&O
method and is not complicated comparing with the IncCond
method. The proposed MPPT control flow chart is shown in
Fig. 20.
The sampling rate for PV dc voltage and dc current is 100 μs
in order to adapt the MPPT algorithm. Figs. 21 and 22 show
the simulated PV power versus voltage and current versus
voltage curves, respectively, by the proposed MPPT algo-
rithm under the different levels of insolation. It can be
noticed that the performances of both the MPPT and the dc
controller PIdc(s) are very good. The dc link voltage is
controlled to track the maximum power point’s voltage-
Fig. 26. Membership function for inputs and output of fuzzy logic controller.
reference.
(xiii) Fuzzy logic controller (FLC)
Several microcontrollers have made using FLC for MPPT
[72–77]. Veerachary et al. [76] mentioned that, the FLC have
Table 3
the advantages of working with imprecise inputs, it does not Fuzzy rule base table.
need an accurate mathematical model and it can handle
nonlinearity as well. FLC constitutes four parts, which E ΔE
include fuzzification, inference, rule base and defuzzification
NB NS ZE PS PB
as shown in Fig. 23 [78,79].
The inputs to a MPPT fuzzy logic controller are usually an NB ZE ZE NB NB NB
error E and a change in error ΔE. The user has the flexibility NS ZE ZE NS NS NS
of choosing how to compute E and ΔE. Since dP/dV vanishes ZE NS ZE ZE ZE PS
PS PS PS PS ZE ZE
at the MPP, [77] uses the approximation: PB PB PB PB ZE ZE
PðnÞ−Pðn−1Þ
EðnÞ ¼ ð24Þ
VðnÞ−Vðn−1Þ
Rule base
Inputs Output
Fuzzification Inference Defuzzification
Fig. 23. Block diagram of fuzzy logic controller.
Fig. 24. Membership function of E(n) and CE(n). Fig. 27. A modified fuzzy-logic controller for maximum power point tracking [81].
and In this case, five fuzzy levels are used: NB, NS, ZE, PS, and PB.
ΔEðnÞ ¼ EðnÞ−Eðn−1Þ ð25Þ For more accuracy, seven fuzzy levels are used as in [74,75].
In Fig. 26, symbols a and b are based on the range of values
of the numerical variable. The membership function is
During fuzzification, the numerical input variables are con- sometimes made less symmetric to give more importance
verted into linguistic variables based on the membership to specific fuzzy levels as in [73,76,77].
functions as shown in Figs. 24–26 [78]. Five fuzzy levels are The effective way of performing the IncCond technique is to
used for all the inputs and outputs variables: negative big use the instantaneous conductance and the incremental
(NB), negative small (NS), zero (ZE), positive small (PS), and conductance to generate an error signal as suggested by
positive big (PB). Harada and Zhao [80]
I dI
e¼ þ ð26Þ
Table 4 V dV
Fuzzy logic rules [81].
ΔP ΔI
Once E and ΔE are calculated and converted to the linguistic
variables, the fuzzy logic controller output, which is typically a
NB NS PS PB ΔPM change in duty ratio ΔD of the power converter, can be looked
up in a rule base table such as Table 3 [72].
NB PM PM NM NM PS
Alajmi et al. [81] proposed a modification to the fuzzy logic
NS PS PS NS NS
PS NS NS PS PS based MPPT algorithm, using scanning and storing procedure to
NB NM NM PM PM quickly locate the global maximum power point. A mathema-
NB PB PB PB PB PB tical model has been proposed to represent the behavior of the
NS PB PB PB PB PV characteristic under partial shadowing conditions. Fig. 27
PS PB PB PB PB shows the flow chart of modified fuzzy-logic controller for
PB PB PB PB PB MPPT, where Vpv are Ipv are the PV output voltage and current
respectively, D is the duty cycle, Pm is the global maximum
power point, and ΔPm is a constant that identifies the allowable
difference between the global maximum and the operating
power point. The inputs to the fuzzy logic controller (FLC) are
ΔP ¼ PðkÞ−Pðk–1Þ ð27Þ
ΔI ¼ IðkÞ−Iðk–1Þ ð28Þ
ΔP M ¼ P m ðkÞ–PðkÞ ð29Þ
and the output equation is
ΔD ¼ DðkÞ–Dðk−1Þ ð30Þ
where ΔP and ΔI are the PV array output power and current
change respectively, ΔPM is the difference between the stored
global maximum power (Pm) and the current power, and ΔD is
the boost converter duty cycle change. To ensure that the PV
global maximum power is stored during the scanning proce-
Fig. 28. PV array system block diagram and the proposed MPPT controller [81]. dure, fast initial tracking speed was used. The variable inputs ΔP
Fig. 29. Membership functions: (a) input ΔP, (b) input ΔI, (c) input ΔPM and (d) output ΔD [81].
and ΔI were divided into four fuzzy subsets: PB, PS, NB and NS. all loads of interest, it is adequate to maximize either the load
The variable input ΔPM was divided into two fuzzy subset: PB current or the load voltage to maximize the load power. Hence,
and PS. The output variable ΔD is divided into six fuzzy subsets: only one sensor is needed.
PB, Positive Medium (PM), PS, NB, Negative Medium (NM), (xv) Neural network
and NS. Therefore the fuzzy algorithm requires 32 fuzzy control Along with fuzzy logic controllers there is another techni-
rules; these rules were based on the regulation of a hill climbing que of implementing MPPT-neural networks [84–87], which
algorithm along with the reference power. The fuzzy rules are are also well adapted for microcontrollers. Neural networks
shown in Table 4. commonly have three layers: input, hidden, and output
During initial conditions or varying weather conditions, the layers as shown in Fig. 31. The numbers of nodes in each
initial tracking speed should be fast enough to make a wide layer varies and are user-dependent. The input variables
range power scan and store the maximum available power. could be PV array parameters like VOC and ISC, atmospheric
Also, it should be mentioned that, when the operating point data like irradiance and temperature, or any combination of
reaches the global maximum, tracking speed decreases to these. The output is usually one or several reference signal
minimize any oscillation around the global maximum point. (s) like a duty cycle signal used to drive the power converter
Fig. 28 shows the PV system block diagram, along with the to operate at or close to the MPP.
proposed controller. How close the operating point gets to the MPP depends on
After simulating the PV system and studying the behavior of the the algorithms used by the hidden layer and how well the
controller inputs and output, the shapes and fuzzy subset neural network has been trained. The links between the
partitions of the membership function in both of inputs and nodes are all weighted. The link between nodes i and j is
output are shown in Fig. 29. The proposed MPPT proved to be labeled as having a weight of wij in Fig. 31 [44]. To accurately
able to reach the global maximum power point under any identify the MPP, the wij's have to be carefully determined
partial shading conditions. through a training process, whereby the PV array is tested
FLC exhibits a better behavior than P&O method, which over months or years and the patterns between the input
provides faster tracking of MPP and it presents smoother signal (s) and output(s) of the neural network are recorded.
with less fluctuation in steady-state. It achieves very fast Since most PV arrays have different characteristics, a neural
transient response and reduces the oscillations around MPP in network has to be specifically trained for the PV array with
steady state. which it will be used. The characteristics of a PV array also
(xiv) Load current or load voltage maximization change with time, implying that the neural network has to
As mentioned above the MPPT techniques are used to max- be periodically trained to guarantee accurate MPPT [44].
imize the PV array output power. When the PV array is (xvi) Implementation
connected to a power converter, maximizing the PV array A typical operation of MPPT is demonstrated in the block
power also maximizes the output power at the load of the diagram of Fig. 32, where the controller senses and assesses
converter. Conversely, maximizing the output power of the the output power of the photovoltaic array and adjusts the
converter should maximize the PV array power [82,83], assum- power interface to follow the optimal operating condition.
ing a lossless converter. The power conditioner can be either a dc/dc converter or a
Shmilovitz [83] pointed out that most loads can be of voltage dc/ac inverter. The load can be typical dc and/or ac electrical
source type, current-source type, resistive type, or a combina- load. In grid-tied (or utility-connected) systems, the load
tion of these, as shown in Fig. 30. From this figure, it is clear that includes the electrical utility grid [88].
for a voltage-source type load, the load current iout should be Chen et al. [89] and Wanzeller et al. [90] presented topol-
maximized to reach the maximum output power PM. For a ogies by regulating the PV current to follow the current of
current-source type load, the load voltage vout should be MPP. The control block diagram is illustrated in Fig. 33.
maximized.
For the other load types, either iout or vout can be used. This is
also true for nonlinear load types as long as they do not exhibit
negative impedance characteristics [83]. Therefore, for almost Input Hidden Output
layer layer layer
Inputs Output
i
wij j
Fig. 31. Example of neural network [44].
MPP Measured PV voltage

Tracker and current
Control
command
Power Photovoltaic
Load/Grid
conditioner Power array
delivery
Fig. 30. Different load types. (1) Voltage source, (2) resistive, (3) resistive and Fig. 32. Block diagram of the topology of maximum power point tracking in a
voltage source, (4) current source [83]. photovoltaic power system.
MPP Measured PV voltage (xvii) Other MPPT techniques

Tracker and current (VPV and IPV) Current sweep: This method uses a sweep waveform
Limiter for the PV array current such that the I–V character-
istic of the PV array is obtained and updated at fixed
+ Control Power Photovoltaic time intervals. The VMPP can then be computed from
IMPP Controller
command conditioner Power array
- the characteristic curve at the same intervals.
IPV delivery
One-cycle control MPPT (OCC MPPT): Works with a
Load/Grid single-stage inverter. Based on the voltage of the PV
Measured PV current
array, OCC is used to adjust the output current of the
Fig. 33. Block diagram of MPPT with a control loop for regulating PV current. single-stage inverter such that MPPT is attained.
The control circuit consists of discrete digital compo-
nents but it can also use an inexpensive DSP. Operation is
shown to be close to the MPP throughout a day-time
MPP Measured PV voltage period. The slight discrepancy is due to the inability of
Tracker and current (VPV and IPV) the controller to account for temperature variation.
Limiter The best fixed voltage algorithm (BFV): The control sets
either the operating point of the PV array to the BFV
+ Control Power Photovoltaic or the output voltage to the nominal load voltage.
VMPP Controller
command conditioner Power array
- Operation is therefore never exactly at the MPP and
VPV delivery
different data has to be collected for different geo-
Load/Grid graphical regions.
Measured PV voltage
Linear reoriented coordinates method (LRCM): It req-
Fig. 34. Block diagram of MPPT with a control loop for regulating PV voltage. uires the measurement of VOC and ISC to find the
solution. Other constants representing the PV array
characteristic curve are also needed. The maximum
Fig. 34 demonstrates the control scheme for MPPT by error in using LRCM to approximate the MPP was
regulating the photovoltaic voltage. A comparison of PV found to be 0.3%, but this was based only on simula-
current regulation and voltage regulation is presented in tion results.
[91,92]. However, the majority of work [8,92–95] shows that Slide control method: Slide control method with a
the PV voltage regulation is preferable because of the buck-boost converter is used to achieve MPPT.
following advantages: The switching function u of the converter is based
(i) a good-quality measurement of the voltage signal is on the fact that dP/dV40 on the left of the MPP and
cheaper and easier than that of current detection; dP/dVo 0 on the right. This control was implemented
(ii) the voltage of MPP is within a certain range, about using a microcontroller that senses the PV array
70–82% of the open-circuit voltage; voltage and current. The operation converges to the
(iii) the changing insolation slightly affects the voltage MPP in several tens of milliseconds.
of MPP; The System Oscillation method: It is based on the
(iv) the cell temperature is the major factor that signifi- principle of maximum power transfer and it uses
cantly shifts the voltage of MPP; however, it has slow the oscillations to determine the optimum point of
dynamics and is always within a certain range. operation. At the MPP the ratio of the amplitude of
the oscillation and the average voltage is constant.
This method requires only the sensing of the array
The ease of implementation is an important factor in voltage and its implementation is basically character-
deciding which MPPT technique to use. However, this ized by the use of filters. So, this method can be easily
greatly depends on the end-users' knowledge. Some might implemented with only analogical circuitries. Oscilla-
be more familiar with analog circuitry, in which case, tion method is basically characterized by the use of
fractional ISC or VOC, ripple correlation control (RCC), and filters [19].
load current or voltage maximization are good options. The Ripple Correlation control (RCC): It is based on the
[When a PV array is connected to a power converter, the principles of maximum power transfer and it uses the
switching action of the power converter imposes voltage oscillations in power through all pass filters to obtain
and current ripple on the PV array. As a consequence, the PV the optimal point. In other words, the high-frequency
array power is also subject to ripple. Ripple correlation ripple in power and voltage is then captured using high-
control (RCC) makes use of ripple to perform MPPT. RCC frequency filters, which are used to compute dP/dV.
correlates the time derivative of the time-varying PV array Then, the sign of this derivative is used in a signum
power with the time derivative of the time-varying PV array function to indicate the right region of operation and an
current or voltage to drive the power gradient to zero, thus integrator also ensures the MPP.
reaching the MPP.] [44]. RCC: It correlates the time derivative of the time-
Others might be willing to work with digital circuitry, even varying PV array power with the time derivative of
if that may require the use of software and programming. the time-varying PV array current or voltage to drive
Then, their selection should include hill climbing/P&O, the power gradient to zero, thus reaching the MPP.
IncCond, fuzzy logic control and dP/dV or dP/dI feedback If the voltage or the current is increasing and the
control. Furthermore, a few of the MPPT techniques only power is increasing, then the operating point is below
apply to specific topologies. For example, the dc-link capa- the MPP (Vo Vmpp or I oImpp) as shown in Fig. 6 [44].
citor droop control works with the system showed in Fig. 18 On the other hand, if v or i is increasing and p is
and the one-cycle control MPPT (OCC MPPT) works with a decreasing, then the operating point is above the MPP
single-stage inverter. (V4 Vmpp or I 4Impp).
The three point weight comparison method: It is pre- Look-up table method: In this case, the measured
ferred to avoid having to move rapidly the operation values of the PV generator’s voltage and current are
point, when the solar radiation is varying quickly or compared with those stored in the controlling system,
when a disturbance or data reading error occur [56]. which correspond to the operation at the maximum
The algorithm of the three-point weight comparison point, under predetermined climatologically condi-
is run periodically by perturbing the PV array term- tions. In one of the methods IPV is defined as a
inal voltage and comparing its output power on function of PPV IMPP ¼f(Pmax) [101]. In this method,
current operation point (A), a point, B, perturbed from a PI type controller adjusts the duty cycle of the dc–dc
point A, and a point, C, with doubly perturbed in the converter. The zero error is reached when the current
opposite direction from point B of the P–V curve. and power of the photovoltaic generator are equal to
In these cases, for points A and B, if the power of point the pre-determined values of IMPP and Pmax. Any
B is greater than or equal to that of point A, the status change of the insolation or load, results in a distur-
is assigned a positive weighting. Otherwise, the status bance of the tuned system, and the PI controller again
is assigned a negative weighting. And, for the points A brings the system to its optimum operating point.
and C, when the power of point C is smaller than that These algorithms have the disadvantage that a large
of point A, the status is assigned a positive weighting. capacity of memory is required for storage of the data.
Otherwise, the status is assigned a negative weight- Variable inductor MPPT method: This method presents
ing. Of the three measured points, if two are posi- a new topology of MPPT controller for solar power
tively weighted, the perturb direction should be kept applications that incorporated a variable inductance
same. On the contrary, when two are negatively versus current characteristic. Power transfer in solar
weighted, the perturb direction should be reversed. photovoltaic applications is achieved by impedance
In the other cases with one positive and one negative matching with a dc–dc converter with MPPT by the
weighting, the MPP is reached and the voltage is not incremental conductance method. Regulation and
to be changed [96,97]. dynamic control is achieved by operating with con-
Array reconfiguration: In this system the PV arrays are tinuous conduction. It has been shown that under
arranged in different series and parallel combinations stable operation, the required output inductor has an
such that the resulting MPPs meet specific load require- inductance versus current characteristic whereby the
ments. This method is time consuming and tracking MPP inductance falls off with increasing current, corre-
in real time is not obvious [98]. sponding to increasing incident solar radiation [102].
Linear current control (LCC): It is used based on the fact Variable step-size incremental resistance (INR) method:
that a linear relationship exists between IMPP and the The step-size for the incremental conductance MPPT
level of irradiance [99]. The current IMPP is thus found by determines how fast the MPP is tracked. Fast tracking
sensing the irradiance level and a PI controller is used can be achieved with bigger increments, but the
such that the PV array current follows IMPP. system might not run exactly at the MPP, instead
State-based MPPT: The system is represented by a oscillates around it; thus, there is a comparatively low
state space model, and a nonlinear time varying efficiency. This situation is inverted when the MPPT is
dynamic feedback controller is used to track the operating with a smaller increment. So a satisfying
MPP [100]. Simulations confirm that this technique tradeoff between the dynamics and oscillations
is robust and insensitive to changes in system para- has to be made for the fixed step-size MPPT. The
meters and that MPPT is achieved even with changing variable step size iteration can solve the tough design
atmospheric conditions and in the presence of multi- problem [103].
ple local maxima caused by partially shaded PV array
or damaged cells. However, no experimental verifica- Aiming to compare and adjust appropriately each algorithm
tion is given. according to the application it becomes necessary to provide
performance measures that can be used for comparison criteria.
Beyond the typical measures of dynamic responses, there are also
additional metrics that may be used. Because the transmitted
energy is essential for the use of PV as an energy source, a very
1.00 important measure is the tracking factor, which is the percentage
0.98 of available energy that was converted. The ripple voltage in
Tracking Factor, %
0.96 steady state is also of vital importance, as there is a limit of ripple

0.94 so that the panel will remain effectively at the MPP. Other factors
0.92 such as ease of implementation, number of sensors and cost are
0.90 also desirable. Fig. 35 shows the tracking factor versus different
0.88 methods used to measure the performance. It is clear that P&O
0.86 modified, IC modified, Ripple Correlation and Beta methods stands
0.84 out. The Beta method can extract the greatest amount of energy
0.82 from the PV and being in the order of 98.8% [19].
The major characteristics of different MPPT techniques that can
0.80
be used for PV applications are summarized in Table 5 [44,104].
3. Grid connection in urban areas/microinverter requirements

Methods
Fig. 35. Percent of energy extracted from PV panel. Grid interconnection of PV power generation system has the
(adapted from [19]) advantage of more effective utilization of generated power.
Table 5
Major characteristics of different MPPT techniques [44,104].
MPPT technique PV array True Analog or Periodic Convergence Implementation Sensed parameters
dependent? MPPT? digital? tuning? speed complexity
Hill climbing/P&O No Yes Both No Varies Low Voltage, current

Incremental No Yes Digital No Varies Medium Voltage, current
conductance
Fractional VOC Yes No Both Yes Medium Low Voltage
Fractional ISC Yes No Both Yes Medium Medium Current
Fuzzy logic control Yes Yes Digital Yes Fast High Varies
Neural network Yes Yes Digital Yes Fast High Varies
RCC No Yes Analog No Fast Low Voltage, current
Current sweep Yes Yes Digital Yes Slow High Voltage, current
dc Link capacitor droop No No Both No Medium Low Voltage
control
Load I or V maximization No No Analog No Fast Low Voltage, current
dP/dV or dP/dI feedback No Yes Digital No Fast Medium Voltage, current
control
Array reconfiguration Yes No Digital Yes Slow High Voltage, current
Linear current control Yes No Digital Yes Fast Medium Irradiance
IMPP and VMPP Yes Yes Digital Yes N/A Medium Irradiance, temperature
computation
State based MPPT Yes Yes Both Yes Fast High Voltage, current
OCC MPPT Yes No Both Yes Fast Medium Current
BFV Yes No Both Yes N/A Low None
LRCM Yes No Digital No N/A High Voltage, current
Slide control No Yes Digital No Fast Medium Voltage, current
β Method No Yes Digital No Fast High Voltage, current
System oscillation No Yes Analog No N/A Low Voltage
method
Constant voltage tracker Yes No Digital Yes Medium Low Voltage
Lookup table method Yes Yes Digital Yes Fast Medium Voltage, current, Irradiance,
temperature
Online MPP search No Yes Digital No Fast High Voltage, current
algorithm
Temperature method No Yes Digital Yes Medium High Voltage, irradiance, Temperature
Three point weight No Yes Digital No Varies Low Voltage, current
comparison
POS control No Yes Digital No N/A Low Current
Biological swarm chasing No Yes Digital No Varies High Voltage, current, Irradiance,
MPPT temperature
Variable inductor MPPT No Yes Digital No Varies Medium Voltage, current
INR method No Yes Digital No High Medium Voltage, current
However, the technical requirements from both the utility power However, it is difficult to directly apply the demonstration test
system grid side and the PV system side need to be satisfied to outcomes to other areas because of inherent factors in each
ensure the safety of the PV installer and the reliability of the utility area (line length, demand characteristics, grid configurations,
grid. Clarifying the technical requirements for grid interconnection distribution capacities, PV inverter characteristics, and distribution
and solving the problems such as islanding detection, harmonic of PV systems, among others) that greatly influence the impacts
distortion requirements and electromagnetic interference are on grids.
therefore very important issues for widespread application of PV The following characteristics should be referred to when
systems [105]. contemplating the construction of future grid systems free of
The electric grid has been designed for the traditional central constraints on PV grid interconnections [107].
generation, regional high voltage transmission and lower voltage
customer-sited distribution. This design is for one-way power flow Integrated system management using Information and Com-
and has proven to be safe, reliable, and least cost. However, the munication Technology (ICT).
paradigm is quickly changing due to price increases of traditional Extension of distribution capacities.
generation, price decreases of PV, policy drivers for PV and value Development and widespread use of storage technologies or
shifts with awareness of climate change. Grid-connected PV is still integration of either grid load control or building load control
a small portion of generation for most grids, but with 30% growth with PV generation output.
annually during the past decade and a potential doubling in 2008 Provision of power quality that fits the corresponding
[106], integration of PV into the traditional grid design will quickly application.
become an issue.
The potential impacts and expected benefits of distributed PV Microinverter solar systems require many inverters to handle a
grid interconnections are defined in [107]. The countermeasure specific power level—driving up production quantities, which
technologies that may be applied to minimize the impacts as well reduces cost [110].
as technologies that can enhance the benefits are summarized in
Table 6. Details of each countermeasure technology, including Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is required
application diagrams are provided in [107]. to optimize the power harvest from solar panels.
Generally, the penetration of PV on the grid is still small System efficiency: greater than 94%.
enough that grid operators are not experiencing issues [108,109]. Wide dc input voltage range.
Table 6
Summary of countermeasures [107].
Countermeasures
Grid side Demand side PV side
Overvoltage/undervoltage Line voltage drop compensator Shunt capacitor Voltage control by PCS
Shunt capacitor Shunt reactor Electric storage devices
Shunt reactor Electric storage devices
Step voltage regulator
Electric storage devices
Instantaneous voltage change (sags/swells) Thyristor voltage regulator Dynamic voltage restorer Electric storage devices
Static var compensator Electric storage devices
Static synchronous compensator
Electric storage devices
Voltage imbalance Static var compensator Dynamic voltage restorer
Harmonics shunt capacitor Shunt reactor Shunt capacitor Advanced PCS

Static var compensator Shunt reactor
Passive filter Dynamic voltage restorer
Active filter Passive filter
Active filter
Unintended islanding protection Electric storage devices Electric storage devices Electric storage devices
Protective devices Protective devices Advanced PCS
Transfer trip equipment
Short-circuit capacity Advanced PCS
Disconnection time for intersystem fault Transfer trip equipment
Increase in dc offset from PC Advanced PCS

dc Offset detector
Frequency fluctuation Electric storage devices Electric storage devices Electric storage devices
Supply security Electric storage devices Electric storage devices Electric storage devices
Peak cut electric storage devices Electric storage devices Electric storage devices Advanced PCS
Cost per Watt: $0.20–$0.50 USD in production quantities.

Safety: fault detection and anti-islanding.
ac Quality, total harmonic distortion (THD) o 5%: meets IEEE
519 standard.
A general structure of a grid-connected solar microinverter

system is shown in Fig. 36.
Fig. 37 shows the system block diagram of grid-connected solar
microinverter reference design that controlled by a single dsPIC Fig. 36. Grid-connected solar microinverter system.
DSC device. The dsPIC DSC device is the heart of the Solar
Microinverter design and controls all critical operations of the
system as well as the housekeeping operations. Due to the life Digital phase-locked loop (PLL).
span of a PV panel, which is typically 25 years, two key require- System islanding and fault handling.
ments of the solar microinverter reference design are high
efficiency and reliability. The functions of the dsPIC DSC can be
broadly classified into the following categories [110]: The dsPIC DSC device offers intelligent power peripherals
specifically designed for power conversion applications.
All power conversion algorithms. These intelligent power peripherals include the high-speed
Inverter state machine for the different modes of operation. PWM, high-speed 10-bit ADC, and high-speed analog comparator
Maximum power point tracking (MPPT). modules. These peripheral modules include features that ease the
Single PV DC/DC
DC Single phase
module Boost and EMI filter
Inverter AC grid
36 V@ 220 W MPPT
PWM 1
PWM2
PWM3
IPV VDC PV IAC IAC inv VAC grid
Auxiliary
power supply
PWM module ADC
Legend:
Digital control system
Power flow
Digital signal controller
Signal flow
Fig. 37. Grid-connected solar microinverter block diagram [110].
industrial electronics (ISIE) 2011 IEEE international symposium; 2011.

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 25 (2013) 793–813

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

MPPT techniques for photovoltaic applications

1. Introduction PV energy is clean, simple in design requiring very little main-

2. Maximum power point tracker (MPPT)

The MPPT is described as circuitry associated with utility-

Fig. 6. Characteristic PV array power curve.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the power characteristics of the analyzed PV,

2.1. Problem overview

Fig. 6 shows the characteristic power curve for a PV array.

Fig. 7. Implementation of the Beta method.

Fig. 8. Flow chart of perturb and observe method (P&O) [38].

Fig. 10. Photovoltaic array power–voltage relationship.

Fig. 16. Power circuit of proposed converter system [58].

The three terms in Eq. (18) represent the instantaneous

connected in parallel with the individual solar cells, con-

on the characteristic of the PV array’s deferential power to

-6 Insolation level changed from 300

Fig. 19. The dP/dV−V curve of PV array [71]. 1000 W/m2

1 Simulated MPPT control process

Temperature: 25oC 300 W/m2

Fuzzification Inference Defuzzification

Fig. 23. Block diagram of fuzzy logic controller.

Fig. 31. Example of neural network [44].

MPP Measured PV voltage

MPP Measured PV voltage (xvii) Other MPPT techniques

0.96 steady state is also of vital importance, as there is a limit of ripple

3. Grid connection in urban areas/microinverter requirements

Hill climbing/P&O No Yes Both No Varies Low Voltage, current

Grid side Demand side PV side

Voltage imbalance  Static var compensator  Dynamic voltage restorer

Harmonics shunt capacitor  Shunt reactor  Shunt capacitor  Advanced PCS

Short-circuit capacity  Advanced PCS

Disconnection time for intersystem fault  Transfer trip equipment

Increase in dc offset from PC  Advanced PCS

 Cost per Watt: $0.20–$0.50 USD in production quantities.

A general structure of a grid-connected solar microinverter

industrial electronics (ISIE) 2011 IEEE international symposium; 2011.

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Voltage imbalance Static var compensator Dynamic voltage restorer

Harmonics shunt capacitor Shunt reactor Shunt capacitor Advanced PCS

Short-circuit capacity Advanced PCS

Disconnection time for intersystem fault Transfer trip equipment

Increase in dc offset from PC Advanced PCS

Cost per Watt: $0.20–$0.50 USD in production quantities.