A hybrid solar panel maximum power point search method that uses light and temperature sensors

Solar cells have low efficiency and non-linear characteristics. To increase the output power solar cells are connected in more complex structures. Solar panels consist of series of connected solar cells with a few bypass diodes, to avoid negative effects of partial shading conditions. Solar panels are connected to special device named the maximum power point tracker. This device adapt output power from solar panels to load requirements and have also build in a special algorithm to track the maximum power point of solar panels. Bypass diodes may cause appearance of local maxima on power-voltage curve when the panel surface is illuminated irregularly. In this case traditional maximum power point tracking algorithms can find only a local maximum power point. In this article the hybrid maximum power point search algorithm is presented. The main goal of the proposed method is a combination of two algorithms: a method that use temperature sensors to track maximum power point in partial shading conditions and a method that use illumination sensor to track maximum power point in equal illumination conditions. In comparison to another methods, the proposed algorithm uses correlation functions to determinate the relationship between values of illumination and temperature sensors and the corresponding values of current and voltage in maximum power point. In partial shading condition the algorithm calculates local maximum power points bases on the value of temperature and the correlation function and after that measures the value of power on each of calculated point choose those with have biggest value, and on its base run the perturb and observe search algorithm. In case of equal illumination algorithm calculate the maximum power point bases on the illumination value and the correlation function and on its base run the perturb and observe algorithm. In addition, the proposed method uses a special coefficient modification of correlation functions algorithm. This sub-algorithm uses the error value between calculated and real maximum power point and on its base modifies correlation function coefficients.