Evaluation and Comparison of DC-DC Power Converter Variations in Solar Panel Systems Using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) Control

Abstract

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is a method that can be used to optimize the electrical power output from solar panels. The performance of the MPPT method on solar panel systems can be influenced by many variables. One of them is the selection of a DC-DC power converter. DC-DC-DC Converter is a component that is used to optimize the performance of solar panels. Several types of DC-DC Converter are Buck, Buck-Boost, Single Ended Primary Inductance Converter (SEPIC), and CUK. Each converter has a different effect on solar panels output power. In order to observe and make a comprehensive analysis, simulations are performed through PSIM (Power Simulator) software on the performance of several DC-DC Converters that use Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) as the MPPT algorithm. Variables that observed are the output power characteristic, the response of the voltage-current ripple signal, and the accuracy of the converter in the process of reaching the maximum power point condition. As a result, CUK converter can obtain the highest value of solar panel output power, 145.02 W. A low ripple level with a stable power value response is entirely generated by CUK and SEPIC Converter. Overall, for this system, the CUK converter has better performance than the other converters.

Keywords

• buck converter
• buck-boost converter
• cuk converter
• dc-dc converter comparison
• single-ended primary inductance converter