MICROCONTROLLER BASED DC/DC BOOST CONVERTER FOR SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

DEMİRTAŞ M., SEFA İ., IRMAK E., Colak I.

JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE OF GAZI UNIVERSITY, cilt.23, sa.3, ss.719-728, 2008 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 23 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2008
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE OF GAZI UNIVERSITY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.719-728
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Boost converter, renewable energy, maximum power point tracking, POWER POINT TRACKING, ALGORITHM
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In this study, a microcontroller based DC/DC boost converter has been designed and implemented for solar energy systems. The switching signals required to operate the system are generated by the microcontroller. Similarly, the current and the voltage values at the input terminal of the converter are measured by the microcontroller, and then the power of the system is calculated. In the system developed, "maximum power point tracking" (MPPT) application is also developed to keep the output power as the maximum level continuously. On-off times of the switching signals of the converter are modulated in accordance with the variations on the input voltage level and then the output current is automatically adjusted to obtain the maximum output power. The application results have shown that the ripple factor on the DC voltage at the output of the converter corresponds with the limits of the IEC61204 standards. Furthermore, it has been experimentally observed that the system using MPPT application operates as 36% more efficient than the classical operation and efficiency of the boost converter has been determined as 92%.