Maximum Power Point Tracking Charge Controller
For Solar PV Applications

Problem

Many aspects of society will benefit from more efficient solar power including electrically insecure communities or, in general, people who want to make off-grid or distributed energy systems. However, without intelligent control, solar PV will not transfer maximum power for all loads and levels of irradiance. This is because the characteristics of solar panels change with irradiance and temperature, in order to transfer maximum power, the load impedance must match the source impedance.

Solution

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is a method of manipulating the operating point of the panel to achieve impedance matching in a dynamic system.

Our System

Together, my peers, Evan, Owen and I decided to build a simple MPPT system to charge a lead acid battery. Our system represents the core components of larger solar PV systems.