Comparative Analysis of P&O and IC MPPT Techniques under Different Atmospheric Conditions

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have rapidly become a significant energy supply in the world over the last two decades. PV energy has demonstrated its importance among the other renewable energy sources concerning the greenhouse gas emissions and several negative impacts of other energy sources. According to solar irradiation and ambient temperature, the output power of the PV panels can be of various values. Therefore, different types of power electronics strategies have been used to extract the maximum energy from the PV panels. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) strategy is the most used technique for PV systems. In this study, the comparative analysis of Perturb and Observe (P&O) and Incremental Conduction (IC) MPPT techniques are performed under different atmospheric conditions. The performance of the P&O and IC techniques is observed in the simulation environment using Matlab/Simulink model. Based on the tracking time and the output fluctuation of the PV system, two MPPT techniques are compared. The advantages, disadvantages, and limitations are discussed. The proposed PV system can properly track the maximum power point for both MPPT techniques. The IC technique offers a reduction of the steady-state oscillation and has a better response time to find the maximum power point at the start of the simulation.