ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the main peculiar aspect of the approach lies in the fact that it is a current based technique, joining the benefits of a sliding mode inner current loop with the well-known advantages of an outer voltage-based control loop. Analysis presented therein highlights that noise in the voltage measurement shifts the settling point of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to the right-hand side of the characteristics curve, while noise in the current measurement reduces the MPPT tracking speed. The chapter analysis the behavior of the MPPT algorithms in a noisy environment by means of a similar approach. An effective technique for reducing the effects of the noise on the MPPT efficiency consists in employing closed-loop switching converters instead of open-loop ones. In a hysteretic capacitor voltage control is used for the MPPT function in an energy harvesting system, with the main aim of reducing the power consumption of the control circuitry.
