Low cost ANN based MPPT for the mismatched PV modules

Due to manufacturing dispersal, the photovoltaic (PV) panels of similar rating and manufacturer have distinctive characteristics in practical. As the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) becomes essential to optimally utilize the solar PV panel, distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT) is considered in this paper to follow the MPP of each panel. As the common MPP value is used in the existing DMPPT method to control all the panels, it fails to consider the uniqueness of each panel. By considering the uniqueness of each panel, the ANN based MPPT is implemented in this paper. As the ANN is trained using the actual characteristics of each panel based on the operating current, voltage and temperature, it is able to track the actual MPP. Due to the solar irradiance free MPPT, the costly pyranometer is not required in the actual PV system for MPPT. It reduces the cost of the system and also provides the interruption free tracking due to its independent nature on Voc and Isc values. Also, because of the looping free behaviour of the proposed algorithm, it is capable of following the MPP at rapidly varying condition. The proposed technique and the verified outcomes are discussed here in detail.