Dual Search Maximum Power Point (DSMPP) Algorithm Based on Mathematical Analysis under Shaded Conditions

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) systems represent a clean, renewable source of energy that has non-linear current-voltage (I-V) and power-voltage (P-V) characteristics. To increase the efficiency, a PV system must operate at the maximum power point (MPP) to produce the maximum available power. Under uniform conditions, there is only a single MPP in the P-V curve of a PV system; however, determining the MPP is more complicated under partially shaded conditions (PSCs) because multiple peak power points exist. In recent years, various studies have been performed to obtain the highest peak power point under PSCs, which is referred to as the global maximum power point (GMPP). In this paper, a novel method based on mathematical analysis that reduces the search zone and simultaneously identifies the possible MPPs in the specified zone is proposed; this proposed method is called the dual search maximum power point (DSMPP) algorithm. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, simulation and hardware implementations are carried out. The results show that the search time of GMPP is significantly reduced and the GMPP is detected in the minimum amount of time with high accuracy and minimum oscillation in the power produced.

Keywords

• boost converter
• global maximum power point (GMPP)
• partially shaded condition (PSC)
• photovoltaic (PV)
• perturb and observation (P &amp
• O)
• series-parallel configuration (SP)