Abstract:
An outstandingly effective method of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in operating a photovoltaic power plant that includes at least a DC-DC converter of the output voltage ( V PV ) of a single panel or of a plurality of series-parallel interconnected panels, having a power switch driven by a PWM control signal ( V PWM ) of variable duty-cycle (D) generated by a PWM control circuit, in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) or continuous conduction mode (CCM) depending on the current load of the converter, is implemented by simple low cost analog circuits. The method does not require the use of any analog to digital conversion, digital processing or storage resources and requires only a single voltage sensor, in other words, no dissipative sensing resistance needs to be introduced.