Title

Adaptive sun tracking algorithm for incident energy maximization and efficiency improvement of PV panels

Authors

Authors

R. Ranganathan; W. Mikhael; N. Kutkut;I. Batarseh

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Renew. Energy

Keywords

Sun tracking; Adaptive control; Signal processing; PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS; SYSTEM; Energy & Fuels

Abstract

In recent times, sun tracking systems are being increasingly employed to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic panels by constantly tracking the elevation and azimuth angles of the sun. In this paper, a novel adaptive digital signal processing and control algorithm is presented that optimizes the overall PV system output power by adjusting the position angles of the solar panel on both the elevation and azimuth axes. Since the proposed approach is adaptive in nature, the optimal position angles for the solar panel are iteratively computed using the adaptive gradient ascent method, until the incident solar radiation, and hence the output power is maximized. Furthermore, a Taylor's series approximation is employed for generating a unique optimal position angle increment/decrement at each iteration. Simulation results show that the proposed technique demonstrates fast convergence and excellent tracking accuracy at all times of the day. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal Title

Renewable Energy

Volume

36

Issue/Number

10

Publication Date

1-1-2011

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

2623

Last Page

2626

WOS Identifier

WOS:000292235800008

ISSN

0960-1481

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