A NEW MPPT METHOD FOR LOW POWER SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a new maximum-power-point tracking (MPPT) method focused on low-power (< 1 W) photovoltaic (PV) panels. The static and dynamic performance is theoretically analyzed. In order to extract the maximum power from a photovoltaic (PV) panel, several maximum-power-point-tracking (MPPT) methods have been proposed and used for high-power systems .Their application to low-power PV panels (< 1 W) has just recently been proposed and poses new challenges to achieve a net power gain. In contrast to high-power applications, the power consumption of the MPPT control circuit can contribute significantly to the final power efficiency. This paper proposes and implements a new MPPT method that is particularly suitable for these low-power source levels. The method does not require complex operations and can be implemented with low-power components. This method is feasible due to the low power consumption of the MPPT controller.