ABSTRACT
In photovoltaics (PV), the maximum power from PV to load is transferred by a power electronics converter. To understand the PV behaviour and the maximum power transfer, a study is performed using numerical modelling of the PV, converter and loads. However, the understanding of these processes in real-time through numerical simulations is not satisfactory. In this work, both these aspects of a PV system are realized through hardware implementation instead of a software simulation study. Here, the main purpose is to identify the current–voltage (I–V) and power–voltage (P–V) curves and maximum power point (MPP) of a PV module in real-time. The second purpose is to provide a complete hardware design. A hardware unit is developed that connects a 40 W PV module to a bulb bank through a DC–DC boost converter. An ARM Cortex-M4 32-bit micro-controller is programmed to operate the DC–DC converter in different modes. A graphical user interface is developed in MATLAB environment to capture/plot real-time data from the designed hardware. Employing the developed prototype PV system in the laboratory, the I–V and P–V curves are identified in different climatic conditions. The P&O and IC algorithms are successfully implemented for MPPT, and the MPP transfer is verified by observing the bulb illumination.
