Modelling and Simulation of Incremental Conductance Algorithm for Solar Maximum Power Point Tracker

Due to the urgent and continuous need to advance solar technology, it is absolutely vital to optimize the output of a photovoltaic panel. Since the position of the sun is constantly shifting throughout the day with respect to a solar panel, the irradiance that it emits, which the solar panel uses to convert into electricity is also gradually varying throughout the day. Therefore a solution is needed in order to maintain a consistent power output from sunrise till sunset. For the sake of this paper, an incremental conductance algorithm will be used to build a Maximum Power Point Tracker. In order to provide the optimized power from the solar panel to any specific load, a boost converter in used. This circuit is specifically designed with the specific output characteristics of that particular solar panel in mind. This MPPT system has been successfully tested and simulated using SimulinkiMATLAB and its results show the optimized output characteristics of the photovoltaic panel.