Energy efficiency experimental tests comparison of P&O algorithm for PV power system

In order to maximize the output power from a photovoltaic system, the maximum power point tracking method proposed is an extended version of the algorithm Perturb and Observe (P&O). A PV system based on a DC-DC converter as MPPT device is considered. A programmable DC electronic load is fed by the PV system controlled with P&O, in which incremental steps are different. The experimental results, obtained with a dSPACE controller board, show that the incremental step according to the irradiance variation choice is very important for a better MPPT energy efficiency. This work presents the power experimental comparison obtained with P&O for different incremental steps and for different irradiance variations.