Solar Charge Controller Using MPPT

Reducing the Voltage of the Solar Panel In the sheer absence of a solar charge controller between a solar panel and a battery, the solar panel would inadvertently overcharge the battery by generating excess voltage inflicting some serious damage to the battery. Moreover, cons

Project Title

Solar Charge Controller Using MPPT

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

In this project  Maximum power point tracker battery charger is proposed for extracting maximum power from a photovoltaic panel to charge the battery. The output power of the PV system continuously varies with change inirradiance and temperature. It is very important to improve the efficiency of charger. There are number of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods available to operate the PV system at maximum power point. The proposed system have used Perturb & Observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm for the design and implementation. When irradiance and temperature are constant or slowly varying, the P&O method tracks MPP steadily and calculate the operating point at which the battery is capable of producing maximum power.

Project Objectives

The objective of the project is to design Solar (PV) Charge Controller Based on MPPT algorithm. To monitor voltage , current and power as the input of the rechargeable battery and display on the LCD. LED indication for the state of charge. Automatic battery voltage recognition (12 v/24 v).

And to compare the results of MPPT based Solar Charger Controller with the PWM based Solar Charge Controller to prove that MPPT is more efficient than PWM Solar Charge Controller.

 

Project Implementation Method

Using a battery charge controller for solar power with maximum power point tracking is safer and gives a higher performance. A DC-DC buck converter is needed at the input if the solar panel produces a high voltage. The DC-DC buck converter is a step-down converter. The device regulates power input and output from a load. The converter steps down the power from a solar panel as it enters the battery or the load while at the same time stepping up power output from the load. The converter has two semiconductors, a transistor, and a diode which makes it possible to step down and step up power input and output. However, in order to avoid the risk of voltage ripples, the converter is fitted with supply side filters and load side filters which smooth out power flow. There are two DC-DC buck converters in this device. The first one is at the output of the solar panels. With high voltage solar panels, the output voltage may reach 50 V. The normal open output voltage is from 28 V – 38 V so the output of a DC-DC controller will be 24 V to match with all 12 V systems and 24 V systems. Output current needs to achieve 5 A to 8 A. Texas Instruments is a professional in this field and the most popular solution is BQ24650. The DC-DC buck converter will regulate 12 V – 24 V to 5 V, and output current needs to achieve 2A.

Benefits of the Project

Benefits of solar charge controllers include:

Reducing the Voltage of the Solar Panel

In the sheer absence of a solar charge controller between a solar panel and a battery, the solar panel would inadvertently overcharge the battery by generating excess voltage inflicting some serious damage to the battery. Moreover, constantly overcharging a battery could possibly lead to fissures in the battery paving the way for a bombardment!

Monitoring the Voltage of a Battery

The controller automatically detects when a solar battery’s voltage is low. In the aftermath of a low battery warning, the controller disconnects the load from the battery to prevent it from draining out. Bear in mind, low voltage can still damage the battery if the load is connected.

Stopping Reverse Current at Night

At night, when solar energy isn’t at its formidable might, a solar charge controller blocks current from flowing back into the solar panel, thus, preventing it from doing any damage to the solar charging kit. Furthermore, a charge controller is fully capable of regulating the current when the load is connected to the controller.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Overload protection: Charge controllers provide the important function of overload protection. If the current flowing into your batteries is much higher than what the circuit can deal with, you system may overload. This can lead to overheating or possibly cause fires. Charge controllers prevent these overloads from occurring.

Reverse current protection - stops the solar panels from draining the batteries at night when there is no power coming from the solar panels.

Low voltage disconnect - turns off attached load when battery is low and turns it back on when the battery is charged back up.

Display- show voltage of battery bank, state of charge, amps coming in from solar panel.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Energy

Other Industries

Core Technology

Wearables and Implantables

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy

Required Resources

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