Modified incremental conductance MPPT using SEPIC converter for PV system, simulation and arduino implementation

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are widely used in different sectors of industry. However, they have relatively low efficiency due to their dependence on temperature and solar irradiation fluctuations. Several maximum power point trackers (MPPT) have been developed to improving these PV systems’s efficiency. In this paper, a modified incremental conductance (IncCon) MPPT control technique is proposed to detect the MPP provided by the PV system that can overcome the limitations of conventional algorithms such as perturb and observe (P&O) and basic incremental conductance particularly in sudden variation of solar irradiation. To this end, we first developed and validated a model of the PV panels through numerical simulation using ISIS Proteus software, where the different characteristics curves I-V and P-V are plotted and compared to theoretical ones. Thereafter, the single ended primary inductor converter (SEPIC) part and that of the MPPT controllers are presented. Finally, a simulation in a semi-virtual environment is carried out by programming the MPPT control strategies (P&O, conventional and modified IncCon) in an Arduino allowing the control of a PV system equipped with a SEPIC converter. The obtained results, showing the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, are presented and discussed.