Design of an Intelligent Peak Power Converter for Solar Plants with Lead–acid Battery

The efficiency of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems can be improved via the insertion of an intelligent peak power converter (IPPC) which is capable to maximize the power generated from each PV array by real-time impedance matching. IPPC devices are DC-DC converters with an appropriate control strategy. Selecting one structure over another should be done considering the diverse parameters of the system to determine the best possible solution in terms of cost-performance analysis. This paper presents a design of a cuk type DC-DC converter controlled using direct incremental conductance (INC) algorithm to obtain the aim of maximizing the power harvested from the PV panel. To inspect the modeling and the truthful function of the IPPC device, a 60 W module from SOLAREX manufacturer feeding a Lead-acid battery was used. The designed system provides good performance in stable and transient regimes regardless of weather conditions changes as shown by MATLAB simulations.