A New Design and Embedded Implementation of a Low-Cost Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Controller for Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems

This article presents a low-cost maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller designed to efficiently charge solar batteries using a simple and robust MPPT method, while providing protection against over-currents and over-voltages. The proposed MPPT approach utilizes a modified Incremental Conductance (INC) algorithm adapted to low-cost embedded controllers, as it avoids all the mathematical division calculations typically used in the conventional INC algorithm. It also introduces a modified step size based only on photovoltaic (PV) power change to enhance tracking accuracy and convergence speed. Furthermore, to reduce the stress and switching losses of DC-DC converter, a feedback control with two proportional and integral (PI) compensators is also used to control both the PV voltage and to protect the battery from over-currents using PV power limitation technique. Simulation results, carried out under MATLAB/Simulink, demonstrate the good performance of the proposed control scheme regarding any variations in atmospheric conditions, both for the MPPT control and for the battery charge control. Finally, a processor-in-the-loop (PIL) test using a low-cost Arduino MKR ZERO board is also performed to verify the hardware implementation of the proposed method. PIL results are in totally accordance with MATLAB/Simulink simulation results, which further proves the effectiveness of the proposed method. This article presents a low-cost Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller for efficient solar battery charging. It utilizes a modified Incremental Conductance (INC) algorithm adapted to low-cost embedded controllers, enhancing accuracy without mathematical divisions. Simulation results demonstrate robust performance. Hardware implementation is verified through a processor-in-the-loop (PIL) test using Arduino MKR ZERO board, confirming effectiveness.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH