Laboratory setup for investigation of MPPT algorithms of photovoltaic modules under non-uniform insolation

A laboratory setup for investigation of maximum power point trackers (MPPT) for photovoltaic (PV) modules is presented. It is composed of a PV module, an artificial light source and a universal maximum MPPT circuit. The PV module has been customised so that to enable investigation of partial shadowing effects and related countermeasures. Halogen lamps provide a constant irradiation and pulse operation is possible to avoid module heating. A digitally controlled DC/DC power converter with multiple voltage and current sensors makes it possible to implement and assess different MPPT methods.