Operation of Photovoltaic Panels in Stand-alone Applications

In this chapter, we propose the analysis of the maximum power point (MPP) of photovoltaic panels (PV) in a renewable energy application. From the current–voltage characteristics, we deduced the MPP of a PV panel and specified the use of a power block (DC/DC converter) controlled by an MPPT control. In the case of an MPPT control of type perturb and observe, we realized the photovoltaic system that heats a photovoltaic solar cooker, taking into account this MPPT command. The experimentation of this application, during a sunny day, shows that the MPPT control carries out its role correctly, such as optimal operation of the PV panels and heating of the cooker by the maximum power supplied by the PV panels. The analysis of all the results shows an excellent agreement between the experiment and the simulation of the operation of the photovoltaic system which made it possible to operate the photovoltaic panels around their MPP, over the course of the sun. Under these conditions, the efficiency of the proposed DC/DC converter, with a power of 500 Wp, is of the order of 97%.