Study of a Low-Cost PV Emulator for Testing MPPT Algorithm Under Fast Irradiation and Temperature Change

International audienceThis paper presents a study of a low-cost photovoltaic (PV) emulator to test the real implementation of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. This PV emulator is composed of a variable DC supply in series with a variable resistor; it is based on the maximum power transfer theorem in order to provide a curve that exhibits a peak which can be tracked by an MPPT algorithm. Moreover, this emulator can be used to test the performance of the MPPT algorithm under fast variation of the solar irradiance and temperature. For this reason, the P&O MPPT algorithm with a boost DC-DC converter is used in order to validate the functionality of the PV emulator. Finally, the experimental results show that our PV emulator can provide a simple, efficient and low-cost way for users (researchers, engineers, students, etc.) to test and validate their MPPT algorithms

A low-cost PV Emulator for testing MPPT algorithm

International audienceThe high cost of commercial PV emulators requires finding new solutions for building low-cost system having similar behavior of PV panel. In this work, we present a low-cost emulator using a variable DC supply with a series variable resistor; based the maximum power transfer theorem. On the other hands, a study of the behavior of this emulator is done. The results of experiments test are shown that our PV emulator can provide a simple, efficient and a low-cost way for researchers to test and verify their MPPT algorithms in a laboratory environment

Real-time virtual instrumentation of Arduino and LabVIEW based PV panel characteristics

International audienceThis paper describes a virtual instrument based on a low-cost embedded board to monitor and plot the PV panel characteristics under real operation condition. The system design is based on a low-cost Arduino acquisition board in which the ATMega328 microcontroller is integrated. The acquisition is made through a low-cost current and voltage sensors and the data are transmitted in LabVIEW by using LIFA Interface for Arduino. Hence, the I-V (current-voltage) and P-V (power-voltage) characteristics for PV panel, which processed under actual conditions, can be obtained and plotted directly on a monitoring platform in LabVIEW. The proposed instrument can be used for educational or research purposes using a low-cost and easily hardware without having extensive knowledge about electronic engineering. The present instrumentation technique provides easy access to the collected data for further analysis

Investigation of Partial Shading Scenarios on a Photovoltaic Array’s Characteristics

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of different partial shading scenarios on a PV array’s characteristics in order to develop a simple and easy-to-implement GMPP controller that tracks the PV array’s global maximum power point (GMPP). The P-V characteristic of the PV array becomes more complicated under partial shading, owing to the presence of many power peaks, as opposed to uniform irradiance conditions, when there is only one peak called the maximum power point. In fact, and according to an experiment conducted in this study, when a PV array is partially shaded, the P-V characteristic mostly presents two peaks, given the existence of only two levels of irradiance, one of which is called the global peak (i.e., the GMPP). Furthermore, the first peak is located at Vmpp1 (the PV array’s voltage corresponds to this peak), whereas the second is at Vmpp2. The proposed approach works by estimating the values of Vmpp1 and Vmpp2 using two equations in order to control the DC/DC converter of the PV system. The first equation is used when the GMPP is at the first peak, while the other is used when the GMPP is at the second peak. Several scenarios are simulated and presented in this paper to verify the accuracy of these equations. In addition, some conclusions are drawn to suggest a simple method for tracking the GMPP

Investigation of Partial Shading Scenarios on a Photovoltaic Array’s Characteristics

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of different partial shading scenarios on a PV array’s characteristics in order to develop a simple and easy-to-implement GMPP controller that tracks the PV array’s global maximum power point (GMPP). The P-V characteristic of the PV array becomes more complicated under partial shading, owing to the presence of many power peaks, as opposed to uniform irradiance conditions, when there is only one peak called the maximum power point. In fact, and according to an experiment conducted in this study, when a PV array is partially shaded, the P-V characteristic mostly presents two peaks, given the existence of only two levels of irradiance, one of which is called the global peak (i.e., the GMPP). Furthermore, the first peak is located at Vmpp1 (the PV array’s voltage corresponds to this peak), whereas the second is at Vmpp2. The proposed approach works by estimating the values of Vmpp1 and Vmpp2 using two equations in order to control the DC/DC converter of the PV system. The first equation is used when the GMPP is at the first peak, while the other is used when the GMPP is at the second peak. Several scenarios are simulated and presented in this paper to verify the accuracy of these equations. In addition, some conclusions are drawn to suggest a simple method for tracking the GMPP