An Improved Approach of Perturb and Observe Method Over Other Maximum Power Point Tracking Methods
Sonali Surawdhaniwar1, Ritesh Diwan2

1Sonali Surawdhaniwar, Raipur Institute of Technology, Raipur (Chhattisgarh), India.
2Ritesh Diwan, Raipur Institute of Technology, Raipur (Chhattisgarh), India.

Manuscript received on 18 August 2012 | Revised Manuscript received on 25 August 2012 | Manuscript published on 30 August 2012 | PP: 137-144 | Volume-1 Issue-3, August 2012 | Retrieval Number: C0287071312/2012©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Maximum power point trackers (MPPTs) participate in photovoltaic (PV) power systems for the reason that they maximize the power output from a PV system for a given set of conditions, and therefore maximize the array efficiency. Thus, an MPPT can minimize the overall system cost. MPPTs find and sustain action at the maximum power point, using an MPPT algorithm. Many such algorithms have been proposed. However, one particular algorithm, the perturb-and-observe (P&O) method, claimed by many in the literature to be inferior to others, continues to be by far the most widely used method in viable PV MPPTs. Part of the reason for this is that the published comparisons between methods do not include an experimental comparison between multiple algorithms with all algorithms optimized and a standardized MPPT hardware. This paper provides such a comparison. MPPT algorithm performance is quantified through the MPPT efficiency. In this work, results are obtained for three optimized algorithms. It is found that the P&O method, when properly optimized, can have MPPT efficiencies well in excess of 97%, and is highly competitive against other MPPT algorithms
Keywords: Maximum Power Point Tracking, MPPT efficiency, Power Electronics

Scope of the Article: Probabilistic Models and Methods