Effect of MPPT Technique in Solar System Efficiency: A Case Study

Abstract

Worldwide energy demand is growing fast because of the population explosion. Technological advancement paved the way toward utilizing renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels as they cause harmful effects on the environment. Among all renewable sources, solar energy is a promising source. Solar energy is captured by photovoltaic (PV) arrays that convert the sunlight into electricity that powers the load. A vital component in the PV system is the DC-DC converter. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques can be applied to the DC-DC converter to deliver maximum power from the PV array. Thus, the efficiency of the PV system increases. This paper compares the output of a PV system with and without applying MPPT techniques. The PV system installed at Effat university library's rooftop is considered a case study in this paper. Matlab/Simulink software is used for simulation. The results show that applying MPPT leads to a more significant PV power. The output PV power when applying MPPT has an efficiency of 99.93%, and when there is no MPPT, the output power has an efficiency of 21.21%. Also, the power, voltage, and current waveforms in the system with MPPT achieved less harmonic distortion than the system without MPPT