Investigation and implementation of solar PV based forward microconverter [articol]

Abstract

Nowadays, many alternate solutions are there to overcome the traditional power grid blackout and it results in an increase in research on the various field. The solar photovoltaic (PV) powered microconverter is the way to increase the performance nowadays. The analysis and implementation of such converter are discussed in this paper. The various Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques are applied to the DC-DC converter to extract the maximum and optimal power from the PV panel. The main objective of this paper is to design a closed-loop DC-DC Converter to boost the voltage from the PV cell and supplied to the load with high efficiency. The converter selected in this paper is single ended primary inductor converter (SEPIC) converter and it offers low voltage stress on the switch and simple design. The switching loss is less due to single switch with low-frequency switching. The gating and commutation components are less and therefore the conduction loss is also less. The microconverter is analyzed and simulated for closed-loop control and it concludes suitability of the converter for solar PV application. Finally, the prototype is developed for 80W and the results are verified experimentally.