FOCV-ased Control Scheme for a Hybrid Solar Panels Application

Abstract

This paper discusses the use of the Fractional Open-Circuit Voltage (FOCV) method to track the maximum power generated by solar panels. The implementation of the FOCV method has been conducted in the form of a hybrid solar panel to discover the actual results. The implementation was in several lamps containing relays, allowing them to obtain energy sources from PLN or solar panels. The number of lights switched to the solar panel source depended on the generated power, and this power was tracked using the FOCV method. The greater the power generated by the solar panel, the more lights were switched to use the solar panel source. The FOCV method was the simplest of other MPPT methods and was suitable for small-scale solar panels. The FOCV method was based on the characteristics of solar panel data. The characteristics of a solar panel must be identified first to build an algorithm from this method. In this study, various output characteristics of solar panels, such as under varying irradiation and varying temperatures, were simulated with MATLAB software. A simulation of a circuit of buck converters connected to solar panels and a control algorithm containing the complete FOCV was also conducted. A prototype implementation was made using an Arduino microprocessor in translating the FOCV method algorithm.