Design and implementation of a maximum power point tracking battery charging system for photovoltaic applications

In this paper, a maximum-power-point- tracking (MPPT) battery charger is proposed. As is well-known, the maximum power point of PV power generation system depends on array temperature and solar insolation. Therefore, a digital controller is required to implement the MPPT algorithm. In this paper, the maximum power tracking algorithm is implemented based on a PIC16F877 microcontroller. In addition to the MPPT algorithm, a PV mathematical model is presented in this paper. Detailed description about the design and implementation of the proposed battery charger is also discussed. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed system.