Design of a solar-battery-thermoelectric power converter prototype

Abstract

In this paper a multisource renewable energy system for high-current applications is proposed. The power architecture is based on a multi-input power converter including control and reconfiguration subsystems. Independently of the type of connected renewable sources, a proper control of the output DC voltage bus is provided as well as a proper control on the operating point of each renewable source to achieve the maximum power transfer. A 48V thermoelectric-photovoltaic-battery system in a three input configuration is designed. Three interacting feedback networks are implemented: the outer loop which controls the output voltage and as many inner loops as connected renewable sources to achieve maximum power transfer from each renewable source. Pulse Width Modulation technique is applied and the system has been properly designed to avoid any system instability. Simulation results are shown to test the efficiency of the proposed solution.