Comparative study on charge controller techniques for solar PV system

An effective solar charge controller's design is essential to maximizing the energy that photovoltaic (PV) systems can capture. This paper describes the design and implementation of an Arduino microcontroller-based Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller. The purpose of this design is to improve solar energy systems' efficiency and dependability, especially in large-scale or high-current applications. The LM7815 regulator is used by the charge controller to control voltage, and high-power transistors (2SC5200) are used to boost current in order to provide a high load capacity. In order to guarantee optimal efficiency, MPPT controllers dynamically modify the solar panels' operating point to optimize the energy gathering process. The Arduino-based controller is open-source and inexpensive; it can be used in off-grid solar power systems. The technology can manage a maximum current of 60A and charge a battery bank effectively. The research analyzed the circuit design, control algorithms, and experimental findings, and real-world testing is used to assess the system's performance. The result was very impressive; the system proved to be efficient, reliable, and cost-effective, making it a viable solution for off-grid and high-power solar applications. Keywords: MPPT, Arduino, charge controller, solar energy, photovoltaic systems, renewable energy, battery charging, Solar Power, Current Boosting

Based on the concept of optimizing the efficiency of the automated solar system in residential buildings application, this paper proposed a High efficiency solar Cut-Off charge controller as an alternative to the main solar charge controller in most conventional buildings solar system, the idea is to design an electronic circuit with low losses as a compared with the conventional charge controller to be a part of the integrated and automated building solar system, the design has an algorithm based on some environment parameters like sun Irradiance and weather temperature, this algorithm seems to be inversely calculated because its start from the value of full charge battery voltage. A Simulink Matlab simulator is attempted in the simulation phase of this research. The main difference between the method used in the proposed Cut-Off controller and other technique used in the past is that PV array output power is used directly through a bypass MOSFET to charge the battery bank when the voltage of the battery bank at lower level that its maximum while switching on another path when the batteries reaches its full charge value through another MOSFET to transfer this surplus power to what is called as an Auxiliary load ,fans or auxiliary battery used for system ventilation or solar tracking to reduce the ambient temperature for the system components, so adding more improvements on system performance, this would reduce the complexity of the system on one hand and produce a competitive efficiency, low cost and can be easily modified on the other hand.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) microgrids have gained popularity in recent years as a way to improve the stability of intermittent renewable energy generation in systems, both off-grid and on-grid, and to meet the needs of emergency settings during natural catastrophes. Over the last several decades, researchers have been interested in improving the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Solar-battery charge controllers based on various algorithms are continuously and intensively employed to improve energy transfer efficiency and reduce charging time. This paper presents state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic (PV) integrated battery energy storage systems (BESS). An overview of and motivations for PV-battery systems is initially introduced, followed by the survey methodology and its contributions. In addition, this study classifies residential solar PV systems and battery charge controllers with their corresponding references in the review structure, which also provides details on battery charger topologies. Subsequently, an analytical review of the PV-Battery charge controller and the failure probability of such systems is discussed to determine the system components that mostly fail and their importance in the system. Finally, recommendation amendments to the existing charge controller that potentially contribute to increasing the system efficiency, reducing the failure probabilities, and reducing the cost are presented as future design concepts for the entire system.

Electricity from solar power PV system generates zero raw fuel cost and no environmental issues. Designing is the process of analysis and determining the size of each component of the system to meet the load requirement. This chapter is based on sizing of basic elements required for designing a stand-alone solar PV system to get the energy without environment degradation at low cost. This approach involves survey of a site installed with solar photovoltaic. For recommendation, conformation the hypothesis, reality and future utility a 3 kW solar PV system is designed and implemented. Solar PV system must have installed according to National Electric Code (NEC-690), IEC-62548, IEC-61215 and MNRE in order to determine load requirements, sizing of PV module, charge controller, battery bank, and inverter. Solution of energy demand at low cost is decentralized Solar PV system without degradation of environment. This paper includes the designing and analysis of 3 KW Solar PV system for electrification.

The need for electrical energy continues to increase along with population growth and community activities that cannot be separated from the use of electrical energy. To reduce dependence on the use of fossil fuels, the use of solar energy with solar panels equipped with batteries as electrical energy storage is the best alternative solution as a renewable energy source. In practice, if nonlinear solar panels are connected directly to the battery, the battery will be damaged quickly and will not last long. To overcome this, a controller which is called Solar Charge Controller (SCC) was designed so that it can regulate the voltage and current according to the condition of the battery charging phase. The voltage and current signals are regulated using the pulse width modulation (PWM) method. The design includes a 20 Wp solar panel as a power source, a buck converter is used as a voltage reducer, and electrical energy is stored in a 12 V battery with a capacity of 3 Ah and there are sensors to measure voltage and current. Experimental results show that the solar charge controller is able to work well when charging the battery for each phase, namely bulk, absorption, and float. The device is capable of reaching a bulk voltage of 14.5 V, with an average current of about 4.92 A.

This paper describes the design of a solar charge controller with microcontroller based soft switching buck converter. Zero current switching technique is used for buck converter design. Atmega 16 microcontroller is used for generating the necessary PWM switching signal. The output voltage of the solar panel is reduced to 15 V and it is applied to a charge controller circuit. The overcharge protection and under charge alarm is available in the charge controller circuit. The settings of these protection circuits are adjustable through potentiometers. Win AVR software is used as a compiler for the generation of necessary hex file.12V, 45 Ah lead acid battery is used for charging purpose.

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A Photovoltaic (PV) power monitoring is important in PV systems for proper generation and transmission. With the need to monitor certain parameters like voltage, current and power in order to ascertain the power output of a solar system. In this project design, a GSM solar power monitoring system is designed in order to monitor the voltage, current and output power of a solar system and also transmit the monitored parameters in real time to a remote location via the SMS feature of the GSM technology. An 8 bit 18F452 PIC microcontroller is used as the control unit which controls the Pulse width Modulation (PWM) solar charge controller, IRF3205 MOSFETs as the switching transistors in the charge controller charging a 30AH 12v battery via a 30watts polycrystalline solar panel. Universal asynchronous synchronous receiver and transmitter (USART) is used as protocol for transmission between a Sim 900 GSM module and the microcontroller while the attention (AT) command is used as the communication protocol in sending measured power parameters from the microcontroller to the GSM module which in turn sends the measured parameters as SMS message to a remote location. ACS 712 hall effect current sensor for measuring current and a voltage divider network for measuring the PV cell voltage. The circuit board is printed on a Printed circuit board (PCB) using the traditional transfer method. C programming language is used in writing program codes embedded on the controller. This project design have been able to show that by employing the use of a wireless real time data monitoring (GSM technology), PV systems can be properly monitored remotely for consumption, operation, analysis and isolation in cases of fault detection.

Use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) is on the increase for photovoltaic lighting systems due to their high luminous efficacy and ability to provide adequate lumen output for a given lighting application. The luminous efficacy increases with switching frequency while providing eye comfort to the user. The low electrical consumption makes the CFL an ideal choice for photovoltaic power systems for lighting applications. However the CFL's electrical requirements are not easily met by hard switched inverters due to their higher switching losses at higher frequencies and the difficulty in meeting the complex electrical requirements of CFL of preheat and ignition voltage, resulting in lower efficiency. A series parallel resonant mode sine wave inverter is discussed which provides the basic electrical characteristics requirements of CFL, protection needs for higher reliability while offering higher inverter efficiency and above all a fairly constant lumen output throughout the operating DC voltage range by a unique control scheme. A series interrupting-type charge controller makes the PV power system self-sufficient for producing light in remote areas while maintaining reliability.

Los controladores de carga son implementados en varios sistemas electrónicos con el objetivo de proteger y controlar la carga y descarga de una batería; en el caso de los controladores utilizados en sistemas fotovoltaicos autónomos se implementan dos tipos de tecnologías, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) y Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). En este artículo se compararon dos controladores de carga con diseños originales en sistemas fotovoltaicos con las mismas especificaciones técnicas para determinar el comportamiento de cada uno bajo condiciones ambientales similares. La implementación de ambos controladores de carga se basó en software y hardware con diseños originales, utilizando tecnología PWM y MPPT. Ambos sistemas están compuestos por el controlador de carga, un panel solar de 30 W y una batería de 12 V a 18 Ah; se realizaron las pruebas experimentales de ambos controladores midiendo voltaje y corriente en el panel y en la batería en procesos de carga y descarga, observando que el controlador MPPT tiene una eficiencia promedio mayor que el controlador PWM debido a que el tipo de tecnología implementada influye directamente en la eficiencia, incluso ante valores menos favorables de radiación solar y temperatura ambiente. El controlador PWM es una opción de eficiencia aceptable y además de bajo costo respecto al controlador MPPT. En la implementación de ambos controladores se calcularon tiempos de autonomía similares.

Maximum power point tracking charge controller simulation is done in in proteus 8 professional software and validate using development of hardware model of MPPT solar charge controller for battery. Solar panel does not generate enough voltage all time.Panel can generate 12V to 21V according to solar radiation and environmental condition. For charging of 12V battery minimum required voltage is 14.6V. So, the Maximum power point tracking controller will give extra voltage into usable current, so battery can charge in short period.Development of MPPT Solar Charge Controller is done using ardunionano controller board, ACS 712 current sensor, mosfet driver IR2102, dc-dc buck converter using mosfet, inductor, capacitor and wifi module for data collection, LCD display,LED indication for battery status of charging. Battery charge using three state charging say buck, absorption and float mode. Performance analysis done using simulation model using LCD display status, where first column of display shows PV voltage, PV current and PV power. Second column of display reads battery voltage, status of battery. Third column reads pwm duty cycle in percentage and load status. Voltage level is shown by LED. Yellow LED indicates a fully charged battery, green indicates a regular voltage, and red indicates a low voltage. Performance study was done and the model was validated using a hardware model. All parameters and functionalities for measured solar panel voltage, current, power, battery voltage, charger state, SOC, PWM duty cycle, and load status are shown in real-time on the hardware display. Three-step battery charging algorithms are utilized, specifically the buck stage, absorption stage, and float stage. The battery peak charges to 90% SOC and the battery current is almost steady during the buck stage. In the buck stage, the battery voltage rises to a peak of 14.4V. Absorption occurs in the second phase when the battery's voltage remains constant and its current decreases. Battery current will be very low in the final phase, almost like trickle current.

A study was undertaken on development of a modified perturb and observe algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) charge controller. This MPPT algorithm was developed in Matlab/Simulink environment, using three-state charging method for improved battery charging with higher efficiency. A buck topology was utilised as a DC-DC converter for charge controller implementation. The maximum power of the photovoltaic panel was tracked by a modified perturb and observe algorithm. The battery charge controller charged a lead-acid battery using a three- stage charging strategy including the bulk charge, constant voltage (absorption charge), and float charge stage. The performance analysis of Simulink model was carried out by maximum power point tracking performance, battery charging performance, and overall charge controller efficiency performance. The performance results indicated that the maximum power point tracking was capable to track to the maximum power of PV panel at any solar irradiance variation with power tracking efficiency up to 98 per cent. The efficiency of overall charge controller was up to 98.3%, which matched many high-end commercial charge controller product specifications.

Fossil fuels reserves are decreasing in a rapid pace due to more power consumption. Advancement of technology, usage of electrical equipments and increase in population are the main reasons for energy consumption. In order to meet the energy demand and to sustain the environment depending on non-conventional sources of energy is inevitable. Solar energy is the clean energy source which is naturally available in abundant and does not contribute to green house gases. The energy from the sun is directly converted into the electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells without using any intermediate steps. Solar charge controller is connected to the PV system for regulating the voltage and current coming from PV panel and to prevent overcharging of battery thereby increasing the life of battery. PID controller is used to obtain the desired voltage and for constant recharging of lead-acid battery. This paper addresses the modeling and simulation of Photovoltaic system under Maximum power Point Tracking (MPPT) condition and design of Buck converter with PID controller for constant charging of battery.

<p>Attempting to reduce the existing electricity consumption bill, as well as the stability and non-outage grid recharge with the lowest possible cost and suitable quality, is one of the most important goals for those interested in energy around the world. This paper study the circumstances surrounding the Egyptian society to find the best solutions to a achieved this goals, and it was found that solar energy is one of the best alternatives available for energy. Firstly will be study the electricity consumption bill, slice prices and a program was made to calculate the consumption invoice moreover another program for quick estimation to the proposed solar system.The proposed system provides a smart integration between the solar system and grid, where the supply sustainability and the optimal cost are considered. This configuration allows the two sources separately or simultaneously supply the loads depending on photovoltaic extracted energy. Operational analysis of the proposed system will discussed in this paper. The proposed system consists of solar cells, charge controller, batteries and inverter plugged to automatic transfer switches (ATS) using Programmable Logic Control (PLC). The system grantee a safe and reliable load feeding independently on the grid status. The system durability is the most depicted feature through the modelling and experimentally results. A typical case studies for about four years of non-outages photovoltaic-grid hybrid supply (the implemented system) will be presented and discussed.</p>

Solar power is a great alternative to existing power sources. Global warming will lead to a lack of power sources soon. With the rapid increase of electrical power in the atmosphere, it is necessary to take strong steps to manage it. Solar power is affected by the weather. The development of solar charge controllers is therefore necessary. The solar charge controller connects the load between the photovoltaic panel and the battery. During the day, the PV panel supplies the load as well as charges the battery, and during the night, the battery supplies the load. By using the solar charge controller, the PV panel will operate at MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking), and the battery will be protected from damage (undercharging and overcharging) by checking its state of charge. Variable and constant DC supplies can be supported by the charge controller. DC nano grids, solar-powered electric vehicles, and thermoelectric modules for heating and cooling can benefit from this technology.