Comparative Study of Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms Using an Experimental, Programmable, MPPT Test Bed

Maximum power point trackers (MPPT) play an important role in solar power systems because they maximize the power output from a Photovoltaic (PV) system, thereby minimizing overall system cost. MPPT\u27s can be controlled using a variety of different MPPT algorithm, however, to date there has been no experimental comparison between different algorithms in terms of their maximum power point tracking efficiencies using a common baseline. This common baseline includes an MPPT test bed to facilitate the testing of all algorithms of interest and optimizing all algorithms to their fullest potential. This paper provides a comparison between the perturb and observe, incremental conductance and constant voltage algorithms. Results are obtained for these three optimized algorithms (Perturb and Observe, Incremental Conductance and Constant Voltage) using a microprocessor-controlled MPPT operating from a PV array and also a PV array simulator