Solar Panel Maximum Power Point Tracker using Basic Stamp
Solar panels have a very steep power curve and it is necessary to track the peak power point to achieve a reasonable output.
The basic operation is very simple:
1) measure the panel voltage and current and calculate the panel power
2) compare power with previous period power
3) modify PWM to move in the direction of increased power
4) if the power difference is small, then the peak power point is close - do nothing
5) loop
On start-up set the PWM to zero then increase to start the tracking.
This project drives a small fountain pump directly from a solar panel and I found this provides a very visual demonstration and understanding of the problem. A light upset (cloud ?) can also be monitored.
There is also a program to increase the PWM from zero to maximum so that the panel power characteristics can be captured using a data capture utility.
The basic operation is very simple:
1) measure the panel voltage and current and calculate the panel power
2) compare power with previous period power
3) modify PWM to move in the direction of increased power
4) if the power difference is small, then the peak power point is close - do nothing
5) loop
On start-up set the PWM to zero then increase to start the tracking.
This project drives a small fountain pump directly from a solar panel and I found this provides a very visual demonstration and understanding of the problem. A light upset (cloud ?) can also be monitored.
There is also a program to increase the PWM from zero to maximum so that the panel power characteristics can be captured using a data capture utility.
Comments
I'm working on something similar using the SX chip.
This will give me a good start.
Bean.
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www.fd.com.my
www.mercedes.com.my
I am in Australia and these small DC pumps are freely available from landscape, aquarium and electronic shops.
Just look around for one that meets your voltage and power output.
I guess in Malaysia they should be available from the same sources, or the shops can easily obtain them from Hong Kong/China manufacturers.
With your sunny climate you should have great potential for solar equipment !
Best wishes
I have solar panel of 10.8Voc and i want to drive my Boe-bot robot on it for this i want to use MPPT. Please tell me how can i use that.
Regards
Shy