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Advancements in MPPT Techniques for PV Systems
Kamal Kumar
Electrical Department
National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand
Abstract—The ingestion of electrical energy is increasing and
due to inadequate supply of fossil fuel, the only option left is
the renewable energy (RE). In last few Years there has been
an increase in consideration towards the use of solar energy.
The power-voltage characteristic of photovoltaic cell are non-
linear.in order to get the Maximum output power from PV system,
the maximum power point (MPP) must be uninterruptedly
tracked. The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms
enhance the efficiency of PV system. The Maximum Power Point
(MPP) of a photovoltaic system differs with irradiance and Load
connected to the (PV) system along with the temperature. I have
been asked to review a paper in electrical engg. SoI choose
this one.This paper comprehends three of the most commonly
applied algorithms and recent developments in them namely
as Perturband observe,Incremental Conductance, and also one
intelligent control algorithm i.e. AI based MPPT techniques.
I. I NTRODUCTION
In present time many renewable energy sources are available
such as solar energy, wind energy,bio energy,fuel energy etc.
Solar energy is one of the most suitablewidespread form of
renewable energy because of the possibility of direct con-
version into electrical energy using Photo Voltaic system.The
photovoltaic system is the system which practices the sun
light to generate the electrical energy by the photoelectric
phenomenon. This phenomenon converts the solar energy
(photo) into electric energy. The general photovoltaic circuit
module is shown in figure.
Fig. 1: Solar cell diagram
(V +IRs ) q
V + IRs
I = IL − IO (e KT − 1) − (1)
Rsh
Kamal Kumar, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of
Technology, Uttarakhand, India. e-mail:saini.kamalkant@gmail.com
Where:
I is the cell current (A).
IL is the light generated current(A).
Io is the diode saturation current.
q is the change of electrone= 1.6 ∗ 10−19 (coul.)
K is the Boltzman constant (j/K).
T is the cell temperature (K).
Rs , Rsh are cell series and shunt resistance (ohms).
V is the cell output voltage(V).
The installation cost of a PV system is very huge.Any
improvement in the efficiency of the PV panel and the inverter
is difficult because it depends on available technology, but
improvement in the tracking algorithm is easier.
The total investment in the solar PV system constitutes of the
following, PV array around ,60 percent battery, 27 percent
charge controller, inverter and other installation costs around
13 percent. The nominal costing can be reduced by improving
the efficiency of the PV system. There is a balance to be upheld
between the cost and efficiency.
II. M AXIMUM P OWER P OINT T RACKING (MPPT)
T ECHNIQUES
A. Experimental Framework
This is an electronic system that operates the photovoltaic
cell in a manner to extract the maximum power from the
system. It is an operating point at which maximum power
can be taken out from the system. Usually represented as
MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING. Coupling to the
load for maximum power transmission may require either
providing a difficult voltage at lower current or lower voltage
at higher current. The output of solar array is a function
of solar irradiance, temperature. Generally MPPT is installed
in between PV system and load. Coupling to the load for
maximum power transmissionmay require either providing a
difficult voltage at lower current or lower voltage at higher
current.
B. Perturb and Observe (PO) Algorithm
PO is the most extensively used algorithm due to the
easiness of enactmentpractically. In Perturb algorithm, a small
increase in operating voltage of PV array is realized, and
the amount of change in power is measured. In the lower
solar radiation cases, such as because of becoming smooth,
it is difficult to define the location of MPP exactly. In this
technique, as the name says, produces an infinitesimal change
in output voltage to observe the change in power. If the next

Fig. 2: diagram of traction
perturbation should be in same way to find the MPP and
if then direction of perturbation is reversed. In other terms
we can say that if due to increment in voltage, the power
increases it shows that the actual operating point is at the left
side of the maximum power point. This process is repeated at
some fix intervals until the MPP are achieved.In the lower
solar radiation cases, such as G= 440 W/m2 and G=260
W/m2, because of becoming smooth, it is difficult to define
the location of MPP exactly. Disadvantage of PO method is
also that it cannot determine actual location of MPP.
C. Flowchart for the PO method
Fig. 3: Flow chart of P O
2
D. Advancements in Perturb and Observe method
BIOLOGICAL SWARM INTELLIGENCE-PO algorithm is
comprehended by Chen in 2010.In this algorithm, MPP is seen
as a movement goal. In this research, a MPPT algorithm is
obtained that has biological swarm chasing technique. In order
to determine the direction of tracking accurately, a system
is proposed that assume all modules of PV array connected
with each other. Consequently, each segment is a separate part
of the system, and samples are taken from all of them. In
this algorithm, MPP is seen as a movement goal. Thus, each
module automatically is a chain in the determination of MPP.
This method has provided a higher efficiency at a rate of 12.19
STEP SIZE SELECTOR MODIFICATION- In this method
step size is selected using various dc-dc convertors so that
the location of maximum power point could be realized using
variable step size and advanced converters.
E. Incremental Conductance
Inc.Cond. technique is based on power- voltage character-
istic, the slope of P-V curve is zero at the maximum power
point, positive on the left side and negative on the right side.
In this technique to track the new MPP, increases or decreases.
The drawback of the PO method (oscillation of operating point
in varying irradiance condition) is eliminated by Inc.Cond.
method. This is a further improvement on the PO algorithm.
The Inc.Cond. methodconcedes that the MPPT has reached at
MPP and stops perturbing the output voltage. The PV array
operation is maintained at this point until output current is
unchanged.
F. Flowchart of Incremental Conductance method
Fig. 4: Flow chart of incremental conductance
G. Advancements/Improvements In Incremental Conductance
Method
Parasitic Capacity Algorithm-Parasitic capacity (PC) method
shows similarities with the IC method. However, changing of
parasitic junction capacity (PJC) value is taken in account in
this method. Parasitic junction capacity occurs as outcome
of charge accumulation in junction area and the inductance
associated to the connections of photovoltaic cells. Actually,
there are two main apparatuses (parasitic capacitance and
inductance) called the reactive parasitic components. It is
determined that the parasitic capacitance reduces the error
signal when the PV panel is operating outside the MPP,
slackening down the system dynamic. The charge is stored in
pn junction of the solar cells. In case we add the capacitance
to the lighted diode equation we obtained- In the parasitic
capacitance the maximum power is found at the point where
(dP/d) Byreproducing the above equation by array voltage (v)
to obtaining the power of array and differentiating the result.
H. AI(artificial intelligence based MPPT techniques
An Artificial Intelligence MPPT technique in PV system
realizes very good enactment and fast responses especially
for rapidly varying temperature and irradiance variations. In
present time AI technique is implemented in vast areas. This
paper contemplates only artificial neural network (ANN) and
Fuzzy logic (FL) method out of the many remaining AI
techniques for MPPT.
Artificial Neural Network – An Artificial neural network
(ANN) consists of electrical neurons which are connected
to each other depending on diverse topologies. An ANN
uses nonlinear and complex function for identification and
modelling of the system. A neural network consists of three
layers. The output signal is the duty cycle signal for power
converter to operate at Maximum power point. The exact
knowledge of PV system parameter is not obligatory, which
is a major advantage of Artificial neural Network.The PV
data such as open circuit voltage and short circuit current or
atmospheric irradiance and temperature can be used as input.
Fuzzy Logic-The Fuzzy-Logic technique is used for complex
and non-linear systems and in recent years has found applica-
tion in MPPT system. The fuzzy logic based MPPT controllers,
similar to ANN, can also work with imprecise inputs. Wang
at. al. compared the two MPPT algorithms with FL and the
above-mentioned TPWC. According to the simulation results,
FL-based algorithm operate with 3.07W power loses of total
220W. These loses reduce by increasing of solar radiation to
0.475W. The average error is around 1.6W, and this value is a
significantly successful value for a 220W system. In algorithm,
average loses are under 1.5W. But unsteadiness of this method
is higher especially in low solar radiation situation especially
in the morning and evening time. Eventually, both choices are
considered equally.
of system. As an outcome of cost optimization, after decided
to use a maximum power point traction system by the designer,
it is important to choose which algorithm will be used in ap-
plication. In this paper, general classification and descriptions
of the most widely used MPPT algorithms are analysed and
compared. Operating principles and application processes of
Maximum power point algorithms such as PO, incremental
conductance, parasitic capacity, and artificial intelligence have
been explained. As results of analysis, obtained efficiency,
ranges and other criteria for comparison are given in the liter-
ature review. As explained, different profits may be selection
reason for each algorithm. Parasitic capacity, modified PO,
and artificial intelligence-based MPPT algorithms are the most
advantageous systems in terms of electrical efficiency.As I
have stated above, varied MPPT techniques are suitable for
different applications. In each system, an algorithm may not
give the same result. However, in practice, the most popularly
used commercial designs are PO and IC algorithms due to their
simple organizations and low cost. Recently, the using areas
of software-based artificial intelligent techniques such as FL,
ANN are growing in MPTT applications.
R EFERENCES
[1] 1. S. Jain and V. Agarwal, “New current control based MPPT technique
for single stage grid connected PV systems,” Energy Conversion and
Management, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 625–644, 2007.
[2] 2. H. Patel and V. Agarwal “ Maximum power point tracking scheme
for PV system operating under partially shaded conditions” IEEE Trans.
Ind. Electron., vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 1689-1698, April 2008
[3] 3. Insights of the Advancement in Maximum Power Point Tracking
Techniques in PV Module, Yoganandini A.P., IEEE Trams. Ind., March
2012.
[4] 4. T. Tafticht, K. Agbossou, M. L. Doumbia, and A. Chériti, “An im-
proved maximum power point tracking method for photovoltaic systems,”
Renewable Energy, vol. 33, no. 7, pp. 1508–1516, 2008.

III. C ONCLUSION & F UTURE S COPE

MPPT algorithms used in photo voltaic systems are one of
the most important factors distressing the electrical efficiency