A comparative study of the FLC, INC and P&O methods of the MPPT algorithm for a PV system

Abstract

A photovoltaic generator's output power depends on a variety of parameters including solar radiation intensity and cell temperature. Thus, Maximum Power Point Tracking Controllers (MPPT) should be applied to achieve the maximum PV system power, irrespective of environment variations. The performance of these approaches differs in terms of energy recovery, conversion efficiency, response time and reliability, under various environmental conditions. This paper explores a comparative analysis between different MPPT, that are perturb-and-observe (P&O), incremental conductance (INC), and fuzzy logic controller (FLC). Using MATLAB / Simulink environment, a model of the PV module and the DC / DC boost converter was simulated using the various MPPT techniques. The simulation results demonstrated the advantage of the fuzzy controller at the operating point in terms of settling time, power loss, and oscillations compared with other techniques.