2017 International Conference on circuits Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT]
Perturb & Observation MPPT algorithm for
Solar Photovoltaic System
Mr. Rahul S. Sharma
M.Tech, Electrical Engineering Department
Dr. B.A.T.University, Lonere
Dist. Raigad, India
rahsha17@gmail.com
Abstract—
In the recent decade, the need for renewable energy sources has
increased in which Solar has gained more importance as
compared to other traditional energy sources because noiseless
operation, availability and low maintenance cost. Solar energy
has a great potential to meet the energy demand acting as a
standalone system or in grid connected mode, but the main
drawbacks of solar PV are that they are depended on the
irradiances levels and temperature conditions due to which
power conversion efficiency of Solar PV is affected. In order to
improve the efficiency, we should get maximum output power
under varying conditions; which can be tracked continuously by
the special techniques called Maximum Power Point Tracking.
In this paper, a mathematical model of Solar PV is simulated in
MATLAB software along with I-V & P-V curves for varying
atmospheric conditions. Simulation of P&O algorithm with buck
-boost converter is also carried out and power of Solar PV with
and without MPPT is also compared.
Keywords— Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system; Maximum
Power Point Tracking (MPPT); Buck-Boost Converter; Perturb
& Observation (P&O).
I. INTRODUCTION
The energy demand – supply gap is increasing due to the
increase in the consumption of electrical energy all over the
world, due to the increase in the energy demand and depletion
of fossil fuels. Therefore it is important to look for the
alternative sources of energy. In order to find out solution for
above problems many researches are carried out for sustainable
energy sources, mainly in renewable energy sources. [1]
There are many types of renewable sources available viz.
solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, thermal energy,
biomass et al. Among the above stated renewable energy
sources solar photovoltaic is gaining more importance due to
its reliability and ease of availability. The advantages of solar
PV are as follows: it is renewable sources and mainly
abundantly available in nature, it is silent producer of
electricity; due to absence of mechanical parts it has low
maintenance cost, low operating cost, and eco- friendly. [1], [2]
978-1- 5090-4967- 7/17/$31.00 © 2017 IEEE
Dr. P.K.Katti
Professor, Electrical Engineering Department
Dr. B.A.T.University, Lonere
Dist. Raigad, India
pk_katti2003@yahoo.com
The energy from sun can be collected in many forms but
one of the most popular techniques is Photovoltaic (PV) in
which the energy is directly obtained in electrical form.
Photovoltaic (PV) is the field of research and technology in
which the irradiance from sun (sunlight, including sun ultra
violet radiation) is directly converted into electricity by the
means of photovoltaic effect. The photovoltaic effect is a
process in which light (photons) is converted into electricity
(voltage), which uses semi-conductor material such as silicon
for the conversion. When the solar radiation is incident on the
semi conducting film, it causes an electrical current to flow
through it. Photovoltaic cells produce only direct current
(DC) electricity. The photovoltaic cells are classified based on
the type of semi-conductor used and they are followed as
crystalline and thin film cells. [2]
This paper presents the work of Maximum Power Point
Tracking (MPPT) based on perturb and observation using a
DC-DC Buck-Boost converter for the performance of Solar PV
under certain irradiation and temperature condition. For the
ease of concept developed in the work, the paper is divided into
Sections: Section II present theory of solar PV modeling;
Section III shows the different MPPT techniques available;
Section IV gives theory of DC-DC Buck-Boost converter;
Section V presents the simulation results carried out in
MATLAB software; followed by Section VI conclusion.
II. MODELLING OF SOLAR PV SYSTEM
Solar PV cells constitute the heart and modules make up the
basic building block of a solar PV panel. Number of cells is
connected in series or parallel combinations to form a module
and a group of such modules connected in series/parallel
depending on system voltage and current combine to form a
PV panel. Thus to model a PV panel we must first model an
equivalent solar cell. Fig.1 shows a simple solar PV panel
whereas Fig.2 shows equivalent circuit diagram of a single
solar PV cell which helps us to understand the working of solar
cell and to mathematically model it. A solar cell consists of
constant current source, non-linear junction impedance and
series and shunt resistances (Rs and Rp respectively) as shown
in Fig. 2. [2], [3]
 2017 International Conference on circuits Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT]

The mathematical modelling of solar PV cell can be given To account for losses due to internal series and parallel
using following equations: resistances, a more accurate equation can be given for V-I
characteristics of solar cell as follows:
೜ೇ
‫ܫ‬஽ ൌ  ‫ܫ‬଴ ሺ݁ ಼೅ െ ͳሻ (1)
௏ሺଵାோೞሻ
‫ ܫ‬ൌ ‫ܫ‬௦௖ െ ‫ܫ‬଴ ൫݁ ௤௏ሺଵାோೞ ሻȀ௄் െ ͳ൯ െ ൬ ൰ (5)
ோ೛

Simulation of PV array was done under different irradiations

and operating temperatures conditions. The I-V & P-V curves
plotted through simulation are shown below in Fig. 3 & 4.[4]

The V-I & P-V characteristics are plotted for different

irradiation levels are as follows: 1000, 800, 600 & 400
W/m2 and a constant temperature of 250 C. The results show
that the power increases with the increase in irradiation level
and vice-versa.

Fig.1 Simple Solar PV Panel The V-I & P-V characteristics are plotted for different
temperatures are as follows: 55, 45, 35 & 250 C and a constant
irradiation of 1000 W/m2. The results show that the power
decreases with the increase in temperature and vice-versa. [3]

Fig.2 Equivalent circuit diagram of solar PV cell

೜ೇ
‫ ܫ‬ൌ  ‫ܫ‬௦௖ െ ‫ܫ‬଴ ሺ݁ ಼೅ െ ͳሻ (2)

௄் ூ
ܸ௢௖ ൌ Žቀ ೞ೎ ൅ ͳቁ (3)
௤ ூబ

೜ೇ
ܲ ൌ ܸ ‫ ܫ כ‬ൌ ܸ‫ܫ‬௦௖ െ ܸ‫ܫ‬଴ ൬݁ ಼೅ െ ͳ൰ (4)
Where,

I is the load current given by solar PV cell in Amps

V is the voltage generated by solar PV cell in volts
P is the power of solar PV cell in watts
I0 is the dark or reverse saturation current in Amps
Isc is the short circuit current of solar cell in Amps
Voc is the maximum open circuit voltage in volts
ID is the diode current in Amps Fig.3 Effect of irradiation on PV cell
q is the electron charge (1.602 x 10-19C)
K is the Boltzmann's constant (1.381 x 10-23J/K)
T is the absolute temperature in K
Rs & Rp is series & shunt resistances
 2017 International Conference on circuits Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT]
Fig.4 Effect of temperature on PV cell
TABLE I. SOLAR PANEL RATING
Open circuit Voltage 43V
Short circuit current 7.5A
Max. power point Voltage 35V
Max. power point current 7.14A
III. DC – DC CONVERTER
There are different types of DC-DC converters available viz.
Buck, Boost, Buck-Boost & Cuk converters which convert the
voltage level according to the requirement. In this paper, we
have used Buck-Boost converter, the buck and boost
topologies are combined into one. A Buck-Boost converter
is also built using the components viz. switch, inductor,
diode & capacitor. The inductor in this converter is placed
in parallel with the input voltage and the load capacitor.
The switch or transistor is placed between the input and the
inductor, while the diode is placed between the inductor
and the load capacitor in a reverse direction, shown in
Figure 5.The buck-Boost converter provides an output
voltage that may be less than or greater than the input
voltage.[5]
Fig.5 Buck-Boost converter
TABLE II. BUCK-BOOST RATING
inductance 47mH
Capacitance 200¶F
IV. MPPT TECHNIQUES
I-V and P-V characteristic of a PV cell has a unique single
point of maximum power at which it operates optimally. There
are special algorithms and techniques to track this maximum
power point under changing irradiation and temperature
conditions and these are called as Maximum Power Point
Tracking (MPPT) Techniques.
The maximum power point techniques can be broadly
classified into two categories viz. Indirect and Direct MPPT
techniques. Few of indirect techniques are as follows Fractional
open circuit voltage technique (FOCV), Fractional short circuit
current technique (FSSC) and Fuzzy logic control (FLC)
technique. Similarly commonly known direct techniques
include Perturb and Observe (P&O) method and Incremental
conductance (IC) method.[6],[7],[8]
A. P & O Technique
Perturb & Observe (P&O) is a simplest method as
compared to others methods. In this method, the MPPT
algorithm is based on the computation of the PV output power
and the power change by perturbation of both the PV voltage
and current.
The tracker operates by incrementing or decrementing the
solar array voltage continuously at regular interval. For a
given perturbation, if there is increase (decrease) in the output
power of the PV, it leads to subsequent perturbation in the
same (opposite) direction as shown in the Fig.5. As a result the
duty ratio of the DC-DC converter is varied accordingly and
the process is repeated until the maximum power point has
been reached. [6], [7]
 2017 International Conference on circuits Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT]

B. Incremental Conductance Technique

start

To track the maximum power at steady state condition the

Sample
operating point of the system oscillate around the MPP under voltage and
current
variation in atmospheric condition in the perturb and
observation technique, to overcome this drawback incremental dU = U – Uo
conduction technique is used. dI = I - Io

Y
dU = 0

N
di = 0
Y
di / du = -i / u N
Y

N
di > 0
di / du > -i / u
N Y
Y
N

D = D - ǻD D = D + ǻD D = D - ǻD D = D + ǻD

Uo = U
Io = I

End

Fig.7 I & C MPPT algorithm

V. SIMIULATION RESULTS

The proposed PV module with Buck-Boost DC-DC converter

Fig.5 P & O MPPT algorithm
The Incremental Conductance technique is based on the
principle to track accurate maximum power point comparing
the incremental conductance (I/U) with the instantaneous
conduction (ǻI/ǻU) of the photovoltaic module, as shown in
the fig.7.[6],[7]
For a PV module, the derivative of output power of module
with respect to voltage is given by:
is shown in figure.10. It was modelled in MATLAB-Simulink
and its simulation results of I-V and P-V curves are shown in
Fig.3 & 4. To track the MPP of PV module, P&O MPPT
algorithms have been used. Simulation was carried out under
particular solar insolation and cell temperature for P&O
algorithm. The load was resistive load. The simulation of
Solar PV with MPPT algorithm is shown in fig.8 and obtained
results of the solar PV with MPPT P&O algorithm is shown in
Fig.9.

݀ܲ ݀ሺ‫ܷܫ‬ሻ ݀‫ܫ‬ ο‫ܫ‬

= =I+U =I+U (6)
ܷ݀ ܷ݀ ܷ݀ οܷ

οூ ‫ܫ‬
If,
ο௎
൅ = 0, operating point is on the centre of the P-V
ܷ
characteristic.

οூ ‫ܫ‬

ο௎
൅ > 0, operating point is on the left of the P-V
ܷ
characteristic.

οூ ‫ܫ‬
ο௎
൅ ܷ < 0, operating point is on the right of the P-V
characteristic. Fig.8. Solar with MPPT algorithm
 2017 International Conference on circuits Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT]

[6] F. Liu, Y. Kang, Y. Zhang and S. Duan, “Comparison of P&O and Hill
Climbing MPPT Methods for Grid-Connected PV Converter,”
Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Industrial Electronics and Applications
Conference ICIEA, Singapore City, 3-5, pp. 804-807, June (2008).
[7] Experimental Assessment of PV Arrays Connected to Buck-Boost
Converter using MPPT and Non- MPPT Technique authored by
Deepak Kumar Chy. Md. Khaliluzzam Published in Proceedings of
2015 3rd International Conference on Advances in Electrical
Engineering 17-19 December, 2015, Dhaka, Bangladesh
[8] J.A. Jiang, T.L. Huang, Y.T. Hsiao, and C.H. Chen Tamkangn.
ʊMaximum Power Tracking for Photovoltaic Power Systems‫ۅ‬. Journal
of Science and Engineering, Vol. 8, No 2, pp. 147-153, 2005.
[9] Atlas H, Sharaf AM (2007) A photovoltaic array simulation model for
matlab-simulink GUI environment. In: Proceeedings of IEEE
international conference on clean electrical power,ICCEP 2007, Capri
[10] Banerjee S, Jeevananathan (2010) Modeling of PV array and
performance enhancement by MPPT algorithm. Int J Comput Appl
7:35–39 (0975–8887)
Fig.9. Output Power with MPPT & without MPPT

VI. CONCLUSION

Currently the use of energy from photovoltaic panels is a

reality, and its intensive use will very soon become extremely
important in finding solutions to energy and environmental
problems. In this paper, the used MPPT techniques are of most
importance to extract the maximum power available in PV. P
& O MPPT algorithm is simulated for a constant irradiation of
1000 W/m2 and temperature of 25oC for which we get 210
watts of power across the load, simulation of Solar PV without
MPPT gives 140 watts of power which shows that the use of
MPPT in solar PV can be used for improving the efficacy and
maximize the output power of solar PV system and hence the
area of installation of Solar PV can also be reduced and also
the investment cost is reduced.

REFERENCES

[1] Mathematical modelling of photovoltaic cell/module/arrays with tags in

Matlab/Simulink Xuan Hieu Nguyen and Minh Phuong Nguyen
published in Nguyen and Nguyen Environ Syst Res (2015) 4:24, A
springer Open journal.
[2] Development of Generalized Photovoltaic Model Using
MATLAB/SIMULINK authored by Huan-Liang Tsai, Ci-Siang Tu, and
Yi-Jie Su, Member, IAENG published in Proceedings of the World
Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2008 WCECS 2008,
October 22 - 24, 2008, San Francisco, USA
[3] Analysis of Effects of Sun`s Position in the Sky on Solar Radiation and
Solar Panel Output Power authored by Moein Jazayeri, Sener Uysal,
Member, IEEE, and Kian Jazayeri published in IEEE 978-1-4673-5943-
6/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
[4] B. Subudhi and R. Pradhan "Comparative Study on Maximum Power
Point Tracking Techniques for Photovoltaic Power Systems",Sustainable
Energy, IEEE Transactions On 4(1), pp. 89-98, (2013).
[5] V. Salas, E. Olias, A. Barrado, and A. Lazaro, “Review of the maximum
power point tracking algorithms for stand-alone photovoltaic systems,”
published in Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, vol. 90, pp. 1555-
1578, 2006.
 2017 International Conference on circuits Power and Computing Technologies [ICCPCT]

978-1-5090-4966-0/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

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