MPPT technique based on improved evaluation of photovoltaic parameters for uniformly irradiated photovoltaic array

Abstract In this article, a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method is proposed. The proposed MPPT is in principle, a hybrid version of open circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc) and perturb & observe (P&O) techniques. Improved relations are derived in this paper on the basis of which the proposed MPPT operates. These are: voltage and current relations of PV which correspond to MPP, duty cycle function of converter to set PV operating point at MPP, criterion to measure the varying weather conditions and limits criteria to evaluate the steady weather conditions. All these relations are incorporated in the control architecture of the proposed technique, which contains three loops: E-MPP loop, R-MPP loop and S-loop. The proposed MPPT and past-proposed methods are tested through computer aided simulations and experimental prototype under dynamic and steady weather conditions. The comparative analysis between the MPPTs indicates that the proposed technique outperforms other MPPTs by a significant margin.