A Look at Lookup Tables as PV MPPT Methods

This paper reviews the potential of MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) control strategy based on lookup tables as an for PV panels. The lookup table is a search table containing two or more data vectors: one or more input vectors and a corresponding output vector. For a given entry, the algorithm searches for the corresponding value in the output vector. If that value is not found in the table, the algorithm will give an estimated output value obtained by interpolating between the nearest values. In this case, the lookup table is used to find the value of the reference voltage corresponding to the maximum power point (MPP) based on measured solar radiation. Two MPPT algorithms were developed using the lookup table: a conventional offline lookup table algorithm (L) and a hybrid P&O-L algorithm (H). The results obtained through simulating these two algorithms were compared to those of a standard perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm. The parameters taken into account in this review are design complexity, tracking speed, tracking accuracy, sensitivity to environmental change, and cost.