Development of a Global Maximum Power Point Tracker for Photovoltaic Module Arrays Based on the Idols Algorithm

Kuei-Hsiang Chao () and Yi-Chan Kuo
Additional contact information
Kuei-Hsiang Chao: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 41170, Taiwan
Yi-Chan Kuo: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung 41170, Taiwan

Mathematics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-23

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to develop a maximum power point tracker (MPPT) for a photovoltaic module array (PVMA) under conditions of partial shading and sudden changes in solar irradiance. PVMAs exhibit nonlinear characteristics with respect to temperature and solar irradiance conditions. Therefore, when some modules in the array are shaded or when there is a sudden change in solar irradiance, the maximum power point (MPP) of the array will also change, and the power–voltage (P-V) characteristic curve may exhibit multiple peaks. Under such conditions, if the tracking algorithm employs a fixed step size, the time required to reach the MPP may be significantly prolonged, potentially causing the tracker to converge on a local maximum power point (LMPP). To address the issues mentioned above, this paper proposes a novel MPPT technique based on the nature-inspired idols algorithm (IA). The technique allows the promotion value ( PM ) to be adjusted through the anti-fans weight ( afw ) in the iteration formula, thereby achieving global maximum power point (GMPP) tracking for PVMAs. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, a model of a 4-series–3-parallel PVMA was first established using MATLAB (2024b version) software under both non-shading and partial shading conditions. The voltage and current of the PVMAs were fed back, and the IA was then applied for GMPP tracking. The simulation results demonstrate that the IA proposed in this study outperforms existing MPPT techniques, such as particle swarm optimization (PSO), cat swarm optimization (CSO), and the bat algorithm (BA), in terms of tracking speed, dynamic response, and steady-state performance, especially when the array is subjected to varying shading ratios and sudden changes in solar irradiance.

Keywords: idols algorithm; partial shading; photovoltaic module array; maximum power point tracking; global maximum power point; local maximum power point; tracking speed dynamic response; steady-state performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/13/18/2999/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/13/18/2999/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:13:y:2025:i:18:p:2999-:d:1751193

Access Statistics for this article

Mathematics is currently edited by Ms. Emma He

More articles in Mathematics from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().