A comparison of DC-DC converters for power point tracking in Photovoltaic Applications

Photovoltaic (PV) power is one of the major renewable energy sources experiencing rapid expansion. Its development can be attributed, in part owing to the exhaustion of fossil fuels and the pollution in the environment that is changing the climate, as well as to the development of new manufacturing technologies that are associated with PV systems. The limitations of operating PV however still include a low power output capacity and high associated costs, which has led to the investigation of effective ways to develop a PV converter and its controller that can fulfil the greatest power extraction criterion, thereby accomplishing both objectives of being cost and energy competent for PV systems. The application of the DC-DC Power Processing Units (PPUs) design is what causes this procedure to take place. In general, power supply units (PPUs) were divided into two categories: isolated and non-isolated DC-DC converters. Each configuration includes a bk, boost, and buck-boost converters that use a variety of different circuit configurations. These various topologies for power converters are subjected to a comprehensive analysis and comparison regarding their efficiencies, levels of reliability, and degrees of complexity. The buck-boost converter of the non-isolated configuration is the optimum option for the PPUs architecture when constructing an efficient system to function effectively while harnessing the PV peak power under all climatic circumstances.