solar charger | PartQuest™ Explore

Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging

Mike Donnelly
Designer19

Mike Donnelly

Member for

11 years

1,696

designs

10

groups

Member of the PartQuest Explore Development Team. Focused on modeling and simulation of analog, mixed-signal and multi-discipline systems covering a broad range of applications, including power electronics, controls and mechatronic systems.

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Tue, 09/10/2024 - 00:11

CsarDomnguez
Designer131861

CsarDomnguez

Member for

7 years 5 months

11

designs

1

groups

Add a bio to your profile to share information about yourself with other SystemVision users.

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Wed, 06/26/2024 - 15:12

Gerald_1
Designer212493

Gerald_1

Member for

5 years 8 months

4

designs

1

groups

Add a bio to your profile to share information about yourself with other SystemVision users.

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Mon, 01/22/2024 - 22:22

User-1705958736
Designer253368

User-1705958736

Member for

9 months 4 weeks

0

designs

1

groups

Welcome to the community!!

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Fri, 11/24/2023 - 13:46

User-1700829813
Designer251696

User-1700829813

Member for

11 months 3 weeks

5

designs

1

groups

Welcome to the community!!

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Wed, 10/25/2023 - 07:36

uknorr
Designer243533

uknorr

Member for

2 years 6 months

2

designs

1

groups

I'm a member of the PartQuest Explore community.

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Wed, 10/25/2023 - 07:57

User-1698235904
Designer250670

User-1698235904

Member for

1 year

3

designs

1

groups

Welcome to the community!!

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Thu, 10/12/2023 - 12:37

User-1696412039
Designer250003

User-1696412039

Member for

1 year 1 month

6

designs

1

groups

Welcome to the community!!

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Tue, 10/03/2023 - 13:55

User-1696331831
Designer249956

User-1696331831

Member for

1 year 1 month

1

designs

1

groups

Welcome to the community!!

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Copy of Solar Energy Harvesting - Compare Direct vs. MPPT Battery Charging - on Wed, 08/16/2023 - 15:29

User-1692170582
Designer248635

User-1692170582

Member for

1 year 3 months

3

designs

1

groups

Welcome to the community!!

Description

This battery charging example compares direct solar battery charging vs. an MPPT algorithm combined with a buck converter.

The solar panel model in this example allows the user to specify not only the "boilerplate" electrical characteristics (i.e. the open circuit voltage, short circuit current and peak power output capability), which are always given at the full or nominal irradiance level, but also to specify the reduced output and shift in the peak power point at lower irradiance levels. This shift in the load voltage at which peak power transfer occurs gives rise to the performance improvement that can be achieved with MPPT (maximum power point tracking) when the irradiance level varies over time.

The "electronics" section of this design contains a few passive analog circuit elements, but consists mainly of abstract "math block" models. These are used to represent the state-average (non-switching) behavior of the converter. The sampled-data MPPT algorithm dynamically adjusts the buck duty-cycle, to keep the solar panel operating at its peak power output. The user can adjust various "tuning" parameters of that algorithm (e.g. sample rate, the duty-cycle "delta" or perturbation used for tracking, etc.). The simple algorithm is visible in the open-source "MPPT-Solar" model, just right click and select "View/Copy Model".

The simulation results show clear improvement in both panel power output (magenta vs. light blue waveforms) and battery input or charging current (red vs. dark blue waveforms), for MPPT vs. direct charging, respectively. Also, the actual duty-cycle "hunting" or peak power tracking operation is visible in green waveform, as the irradiance level varies sinusoidally (brown waveform).

A companion design is available, which shows a circuit implementation of the buck converter power stage. That design can be used to analyze the efficiency of the MPPT approach. Efficiency can be a key factor in the trade-off assessment vs. simple direct charging. That circuit design can be found here: https://www.systemvision.com/design/solar-energy-harvesting-implementation-mppt-battery-charging

About text formats

Terms of Use Cookie Notice Data Privacy Notice

Mike DonnellyDesigner19

Member for

CsarDomnguezDesigner131861

Member for

Gerald_1Designer212493

Member for

User-1705958736Designer253368

Member for

User-1700829813Designer251696

Member for

uknorrDesigner243533

Member for

User-1698235904Designer250670

Member for

User-1696412039Designer250003

Member for

User-1696331831Designer249956

Member for

User-1692170582Designer248635

Member for

Mike Donnelly
Designer19

CsarDomnguez
Designer131861

Gerald_1
Designer212493

User-1705958736
Designer253368

User-1700829813
Designer251696

uknorr
Designer243533

User-1698235904
Designer250670

User-1696412039
Designer250003

User-1696331831
Designer249956

User-1692170582
Designer248635