Microcontroller based solar battery charging system with MPPT features at low irradiance condition

摘要

In this paper a low cost microcontroller-based solar battery charging system with Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) features is presented using 220 Watt solar panel as power source and buck converter as power converter. PIC18F4550 is used as the main controller to realize the system to charge 12V battery with 80Ah capacity. Experimental results shows that throughout charging process, charging voltage has not exceeded the over charge voltage set by the manufacturer and in low irradiance condition MPPT algorithm is applied to utilize energy generated by photovoltaic (PV) without exceeding allowable charging current.