Study on the Effect of Irradiance Variability on the Efficiency of the Perturb-and-Observe Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithm

Victor Arturo Martinez Lopez (), Ugnė Žindžiūtė, Hesan Ziar (), Miro Zeman and Olindo Isabella
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Victor Arturo Martinez Lopez: Photovoltaic Materials and Devices, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Ugnė Žindžiūtė: Photovoltaic Materials and Devices, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Hesan Ziar: Photovoltaic Materials and Devices, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Miro Zeman: Photovoltaic Materials and Devices, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
Olindo Isabella: Photovoltaic Materials and Devices, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Irradiance variability is one of the main challenges for using photovoltaic energy. This variability affects the operation of maximum power point trackers (MPPT) causing energy losses. The logic of the Perturb-and-Observe MPPT algorithm is particularly sensitive to quick irradiance changes. We quantified the existing relation between irradiance variations and efficiency loss of the logic of the Perturb-and-Observe MPPT algorithm, along with the sensitivity of the MPPT to its control parameters. If the algorithm parameters are not tuned properly, its efficiency will drop to nearly 2%. Irradiance variability causes a systematic energy loss of the algorithm that can only be quantified by ignoring the hardware components. With this, we aim to improve the energy yield estimation by providing an additional efficiency loss to be considered in the calculations.

Keywords: maximum power point tracking (MPPT); solar power generation; energy efficiency; perturb-and-observe (P&O) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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