Novel Control Strategy to Improve Photovoltaic System Performance under Low Irradiance Level

Abstract

A novel algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in solar power generation systems was proposed and compared with the conventional methods of hill climbing (HC) and perturbation and observation (P&O) algorithms. The two conventional algorithms are prone to divergence under low irradiance levels (<150 W/m 2 ), resulting in difficulties in MPPT. The MPPT technique proposed in this study integrates irradiance change per unit area threshold control (ICPUATC) into the P&O algorithm. The proposed algorithm can facilitate quick and precise convergence at the maximum power point (MPP) for a photovoltaic module under a low irradiance level of 65 W/m 2 . The proposed and HC algorithms were compared for irradiance levels of 480, 140, and 65 W/m 2 , and the proposed algorithm consistently yielded better results than did the HC algorithm.This version has been created for advance publication by formatting the accepted manuscript. Some editorial changes may be made to this version.