Improved Incremental conductance algorithm for MPPT in Photovoltaic System
Mohamed Hebchi, Abdellah Kouzou, Abdelghani Choucha
Abstract
This paper proposes a new approach to improve an incremental conductance maximum power point (MPPT) tracking algorithm with variable step size to achieve the maximum power point quickly in photovoltaic systems. Among the most used MPPT methods in photovoltaic systems, the INC algorithm is the most cited one. The MPP changes with multiple environmental factors, mainly temperature and irradiance. Conventional algorithms such as fixed step INC suffer from a trade-off between convergence speed and accuracy. To get around this problem, several variable step techniques are proposed. This algorithm is modified to quickly find the maximum power when there is a sudden change in solar irradiation. The proposed modification allows to vary the initial step gradually to approach the maximum power point quickly, once completed the step is fractionated after each “slope” performed. This technique reduces the oscillations and determines the PPM to the desired accuracy. A series of simulations involving variations in irradiance were performed using MATLAB/SIMULINK, and the speed of convergence and accuracy were compared with the traditional INC technique. Simulation results proved the effectiveness of the proposed modification technique to quickly reach the PPM with less oscillation in the case of a large and rapid change.