Final Year Project Proposal

Off-Grid DC Solar System using MPPT Charge Controller

Project Supervisor: Dr.Aftab Ahmad

Group Members:

Ahmar Mumtaz
11-EE-81
Kashif Ali
11-EE-150
Yasir Shafique
11-EE-174

Department of Electrical Engineering

University of Engineering and Technology Taxila
Table of Contents

Introduction of Solar Energy

Objectives of Project

Off-Grid System

Advantages of Solar Power

Project Description

Work Schedule Plan

10

Project Cost

10

Reference

11

Introduction of Solar Energy

Since the beginning of time, people have been fascinated by the sun. Throughout
history, farming and agriculture efforts have relied upon the suns rays to grow
crops and sustain populations. Only recently, however, have we developed the
ability to harness the suns awesome power. The resulting technologies have
promising implications for the future of renewable energy and sustainability.
Solar power is a form of energy harnessed from the power and heat of the suns
rays. It is renewable, and therefore a green source of energy. Just like wind
power, solar power is a virtually unlimited and inexhaustible resource . As
technologies improve and the materials used in PV panels become greener, the
carbon footprint of solar power becomes smaller and smaller and the technique
becomes more accessible to the masses.
Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global
energy needs for an entire year Today, the technology produces less than one tenth
of one percent of global energy demand.Some uses of solar energy are:

Solar Panel
The most common way of harnessing energy from the sun is through photovoltaic
(PV) panels those large, mirror-like panels youve likely seen on rooftops,
handheld solar devices, and even spacecrafts. However,This type of energy also
depend upon the climatic conditions of the region i.e. Sunlight.

Solar Turbine
On a much larger scale, solar thermal power plants employ various techniques to
concentrate the sun's energy as a heat source. The heat is then used to boil water to
drive a steam turbine that generates electricity in much the same fashion as coal
and nuclear power plants, supplying electricity for thousands of people.

Objective of project

The aim of our project is to implement a Solar system with the purpose of
extracting maximum power from the system. For this we want to implement the
system using both the electronic tracking and mechanical tracking.

Off-Grid(STAND ALONE) SYSTEM

Stand-alone PV systems can be very cost effective in remote locations where the
only Alternatives may be noisy, high-maintenance generators burning relatively
expensive fuel, or extending the existing utility grid to the site, which can cost
thousands of rupees per mile.
These systems suffer from several inefficiencies, however, including battery losses
and the fact that the PVs usually operate well off of their most efficient operating
point. Moreover, inefficiencies are often increased by mounting the array at an
overly steep tilt angle to supply relatively uniform amounts of energy through the
seasons, rather than picking an angle that result in the maximum possible annual
energy delivery.
If generator usage is to be minimized those using the energy may need to modify
their lifestyles to accommodate the uneven availability of power as the seasons
change or the weather deteriorates. Power delivered by a photovoltaic system will
be a function of not only ambient condition especially solar intensity, spectral
variations associated with overcast conditions ambient temperature, and wind
speed but also what type of load the photovoltaic are supplying.

ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR POWER

Solar power has the following advantages:

Solar power is fuel source without limit.

Free main source of power is the sun.

it is environment friendly, clean, do not contribute to global

warming, acid rains or smog, helps the decrease of harmful
greenhouses gas emissions.

We can use it for different purposes: vehicles running on

solar power.

It is a renewable energy source.

It gives us a way to harness power in remote locations.

The development of new technologies allows us to store the

collected solar power through solar power battery chargers.
Solar power is cheaper than electricity heating.

Project Description
Block Diagram

MAJOR PARTS OF PROJECT

Solar panel (PV Cell)

Solar Tracker
Maximum Power Point Tracker

Sensors

Microcontroller Unit

Battery

Protection Parameters

Solar Panel (PV Cell)

Photovoltaic cells are devices that absorb sunlight and convert

that solar energy into electrical energy. Solar cells are commonly
made of silicon, one of the most abundant elements on Earth.
Pure silicon, an actual poor conductor of electricity, has four outer
valence electrons that form tetrahedral crystal lattices . Solar
Panel is composed of many PV cells. When a p-n junction is
exposed to sunlight photons are absorbed, hole-electron pairs are
formed. If these mobile charge carriers reach the vicinity of the
junction, the electric field in the depletion region will push the
holes into the p-side and push the electrons into the n-side. The pside accumulates holes and the n-side accumulates electrons,
which creates a voltage that can be used to deliver current to a
load.

Solar Trackers
A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that
orient photovoltaic panels towards sun. In photovoltaic
applications trackers are used to minimize the angle of incidence
between the incoming light and a photovoltaic panel. This
increases the amount of energy produced from a fixed amount of
installed power generating capacity. More energy is collected by

the end of the day if the PV module is installed on a tracker with

an actuator that follows the sun.
There are two types of sun trackers:
One-axis tracker, which follows the sun from east to west
during the day.
Two-axis tracker, which follows the sun from east to west
during the day, and from north to south during the seasons
of the year.
A sun-tracking design can increase the energy yield up to 40%
over the year compared to the fixed-array design. Dual-axis
tracking is done by two linear actuator motors. During the day it
tracks the sun east to west. At night it turns east to position itself
for the next mornings sun. Old trackers did this after sunset using
a small nickel-cadmium battery.

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

A MPPT, or maximum power point tracker is an electronic DC to DC converter
that optimizes the match between the solar array (PV panels), and the battery bank
or utility grid. To put it simply, they convert a higher voltage DC output from solar
panels (and a few wind generators) down to the lower voltage needed to charge
batteries. Maximum Power Point Tracking is electronic tracking - usually digital.
The charge controller looks at the output of the panels, and compares it to the
battery voltage. It then figures out what is the best power that the panel can put out
to charge the battery. It takes this and converts it to best voltage to get maximum
AMPS into the battery. (Remember, it is Amps into the battery that counts). Most
modern MPPT's are around 93-97% efficient in the conversion. You typically get a
20 to 45% power gain in winter and 10-15% in summer. Actual gain can vary
widely depending weather, temperature, battery state of charge, and other factors.
Maximum Power Point Tracking, frequently referred to as MPPT, is
an electronic system that operates the Photovoltaic (PV) modules
in a manner that allows the modules to produce all the power

they are capable of. MPPT is not a mechanical tracking system

that physically moves the modules to make them point more
directly at the sun. MPPT is a fully electronic system that varies
the electrical operating point of the modules so that the modules
are able to deliver maximum available power. Additional power
harvested from the modules is then made available as increased
battery charge current.
When a conventional controller is charging a discharged battery,
it simply connects the modules directly to the battery. This forces
the modules to operate at battery voltage, typically not the ideal
operating voltage at which the modules are able to produce their
maximum available power.
Rather than simply connecting the module to the battery, the
patented MPPT system in a Solar Boost charge controller
calculates the voltage at which the module is able to produce
maximum power. The MPPT system then operates the modules at
Vmp to extract the full power, regardless of present battery
voltage. A high efficiency DC-to-DC power converter converts the
module voltage at the controller input to battery voltage at the
output.

CONVENTIONAL CHARGE CONTROLLER VS MPPT

How a Maximum Power Point Tracker Works:

The Power point tracker is a high frequency DC to DC converter. They take the
DC input from the solar panels, change it to high frequency AC, and convert it
back down to a different DC voltage and current to exactly match the panels to
the batteries. MPPT's operate at very high audio frequencies, usually in the 20-80
kHz range. The advantage of high frequency circuits is that they can be designed
with very high efficiency transformers and small components. The design of
high frequency circuits can be very tricky because the problems with portions of
the circuit "broadcasting" just like a radio transmitter and causing radio and TV
interference. Noise isolation and suppression becomes very important.
There are a few non-digital (that is, linear) MPPT's charge controls around.
These are much easier and cheaper to build and design than the digital ones.
They do improve efficiency somewhat, but overall the efficiency can vary a lot and we have seen a few lose their "tracking point" and actually get worse. That
can happen occasionally if a cloud passed over the panel - the linear circuit
searches for the next best point, but then gets too far out on the deep end to find
it again when the sun comes out. Thankfully, not many of these around any
more.
The power point tracker (and all DC to DC converters) operates by taking the
DC input current, changing it to AC, running through a transformer (usually a
toroid, a doughnut looking transformer), and then rectifying it back to DC,
followed by the output regulator. In most DC to DC converters, this is strictly an
electronic process - no real smarts are involved except for some regulation of the
output voltage. Charge controllers for solar panels need a lot more smarts as light
and temperature conditions vary continuously all day long, and battery voltage
changes.

Sensors
Voltage Sensor
In order for the MPPT controller to measure the voltage provided by the solar
panel, two resistors are employed in parallel with the solar panel to act as a voltage
divider.

Current Sensor

For current sensing we have used 0.1 ohm resistor. Voltage drop across it
corresponds to the amount of current flowing in the circuit.

Light Sensor
Light sensor detects the intensity of sunlight. We have used Light dependent
resistors to sense the intensity of the light. There are two sensors located at East
and west. These sensors are used to sense the position of the light. When Sun is
Present in front of any sensor its resistance decreases which results in a high signal.
This high signal is fed to controller which generates further control signals.

Microcontroller Unit
The most important part of the project is the microcontroller
unit.The PIC18F452 is used in this project.
In this project microcontroller performs the following functions:
Implements MPPT algorithm
Generates PWM
Operates Relays for battery cutoff
Operates relays that are used for motor control of
mechanical tracker
Does analogue to digital conversion

Battery
In a photovoltaic power supply system, batteries are used as an energy buffer. This
buffer is necessary because the sun is not consistently available due to a variety of
factors: the weather, time of the day, and for vehicles rapidly changing insulations
due to vehicle motion. Using the batteries to store the electrical power from the
solar panels in the form of chemical energy makes the generated energy readily
available whenever it is needed, independent of the current weather conditions and
time. A typical 12V battery will be used.

Protection Parameters
Relays and diodes are used for:
Blocking Reverse Current
Preventing Overcharge
Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD)

DC Load
We will use DC operated instruments as load in our project.

Project Proposed Time Schedule

Other Components and their Specifications

Component name

Specification

Resistor
Capacitors
Diodes
LEDs
BJTs
FET
Relays
Variable Resistors
Microcontroller
Crystal
DC Servo motor
PCB Board
LCD

1N4007, 4148
75N75
Pic18f452

Approximate Project Cost : Rs.35, 000 - 40,000

Reference
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/solarpower-profile/
http://solarpowerfactsguide.com/solar-energy-fun-facts/
http://www.justenergy.com/blog/shine-on-an-introduction-to-solar-power/
http://renewableresourcesinc.com/solar-pv/#.VCOsy_uSyVU
http://www.wikipedia.com