Development of an improved perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm for MPPT controller

Abstract

In this paper, the development and implementation of an improved Perturb & Observe algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in a photovoltaic system is presented. Although P&O algorithm for MPPT purposes is known for its simplicity and widespread usage, there exist some drawbacks associated with it, such as steady-state oscillations, slow convergence rate, and low level of tracking accuracy. These problems have been solved with a modified version of a P&O algorithm with adaptive step-size control, dead-band tolerance, power slope tracking and voltage clamping that has been implemented in MATLAB. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of both conventional and improved algorithms, simulations using the photovoltaic model have been performed under equal working conditions. The obtained results reveal that the proposed algorithm considerably improves the performance of a photovoltaic system in terms of convergence time (from approximately 3.5 seconds to 1.8 seconds), voltage ripple, and power stability. Moreover, the efficiency of energy conversion was increased to 100% and tracking accuracy was improved from ±5% to ±1%. This makes it a promising solution for optimizing energy extraction in photovoltaic systems operating under dynamic environmental conditions.