Maximum power point tracker applied in batteries charging with PV panels

This work deals with the design and implementation prototype of a real time maximum power point tracker (MPPT) for photovoltaic panel (PV), aiming to improve energy transfer efficiency. This paper describes also the charging process of lead- acid batteries integrating the MPPT algorithm making an charging autonomous system that can be used to feed any autonomous application. The photovoltaic system exhibits a non-linear i-v characteristic and its maximum power point varies with solar insolation and temperature. To control the maximum transfer power from a PV panel the Perturbation and Observation (P&O) MPPT algorithm is executed by a simple microcontroller ATMEL ATTINY861V using the PV voltage and current information and controlling the duty cycle of a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal applied in to a DC/DC converter. The schematic and design of the single-ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC) is presented. This DC/DC converter is chosen because the input voltage can be higher or lower than the output voltage witch presents obvious design advantages. With the P&O MPPT algorithm implemented and executed by the microcontroller, the different charging stages of a lead-acid battery are described, showed and executed Finally, experimental results of the performance of the designed P&O MPPT algorithm are presented and compared with the results achieved with the direct connection of the PV panel to the battery.