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Tarun Agarwal
Electrical
The amount of electrical energy requirement is increasing rapidly with the population growth and
technology development. There are ways for generating electrical energy using renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Multiple advantages of solar energy are the key factors behind the usage
of solar energy for various purposes. It can be used for generating electrical power with the help of
solar panels and for storing the electrical energy by charging the batteries or feeding into loads.
Maximum Power Point Tracking technology (MPPT) is a most efficient method among various solar
charge controllers such as simple 1 or 2 stage controls, PWM control and MPPT charge controller.
If we connect this 130 watt solar panel to a battery using a non-MPPT solar charge controller, then
we can get a power which is equal to the product of current of the solar panel: 7.4 amps and voltage
of the battery: 12 volts, and is about 88.8 watts. Thus, we get a loss of 41 watts (130-88.8=41.2
approximately), this is due to a poor match between the solar panel and the battery. So, if we use
MPPT solar charge controller, then we can increase the power gain by 20 to 45% but primarily we
must know about MPPT technology, which is used in the solar panel charge controller.
MPPT Solar Charge Controller
MPPT technology is usually a digital electronic tracking that tracks and compares the battery voltage
with the solar panel voltage such that best power at which the battery can be charged using solar
panel can be figured out. Notice that while charging the battery the amperes are considered. So, to
get maximum amperes into the battery, the compared voltage is converted into its best voltage
using modern MPPT technology having 93 to 97% conversion efficiency.
Working of MPPT Solar Charge Controller
The solar panel voltage 17.6V at 7.6A is converted down by MPPT to match the 12V battery. Thus,
the battery gets 12V at 10.8A making the total power almost equal to 130W. For charging the battery
a high voltage helps to force the current in. In fact, practically, the output of the MPPT solar charge
controller varies continuously to get maximum amperes into the battery.
Power point tracker is a high frequency DC to DC converter that takes DC input from the solar
panels, then converts the DC into high-frequency AC and, again the AC will be converted back into a
different DC voltage and a current to accurately match the batteries and panels. Generally MPPTs
operate at frequency ranging from 20-80 kHz (very high audio frequency range). Hence, very high
efficiency transformers and small components can be used to design these high frequency circuits.
MPPT solar charge controller is used for correcting and detecting variations in the currentvoltage characteristics of solar panel and as shown in the above figure.
It is necessary for any solar power systems required to pull out a maximum power from PV
module as it forces PV module for operating at voltage close to maximum power point to with
draw maximum available power.
By using MPPT solar charge controller, we can use solar panel with a voltage output greater
than the battery system operating voltage.
Systems complexity can be reduced by using MPPT solar charge controller as it has high
efficiency.
It can be applied for using with multiple energy sources such as water turbines or windpower turbines, and so on. The solar panels output power is used for controlling DC-DC converter
directly.
MPPT Solar Charge Controller Integrated with LED Driver
Recent trend in the lighting and illumination frequently uses high brightness LEDs that have long life
span with low maintenance cost and high efficiency, but requires a power driver to maintain
constant current. This can be facilitated by a DC-DC step-up or step-down converter. The below
figure shows the block diagram of an integrated maximum power-point tracking solar charge
controller and LED driver built on Programmable System on Chip (PSoC) devices, controllers, drivers,
analog and digital peripherals are used for measuring, conditioning and controlling the signal.
generated from the PSoC is used in driving a synchronous buck converter that converts solar panel
power to charge battery. The system is also used to control battery charging process and drive LEDs.
We hope this article has provided a brief account of the advanced solar charge controller using
MPPT technology. For more information regarding the solar charger controllers and their detailed
working, you can contact us by posting your queries in the comments section below.
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