What is Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

and How Does it Work?

Maximum Power Point Tracking, frequently referred to as MPPT, is an electronic system

that operates the Photovoltaic (PV) modules in a manner that allows the modules to produce all
the power they are capable of. MPPT is not a mechanical tracking system that “physically moves”
the modules to make them point more directly at the sun. MPPT is a fully electronic system that
varies the electrical operating point of the modules so that the modules are able to deliver
maximum available power. Additional power harvested from the modules is then made available as
increased battery charge current. MPPT can be used in conjunction with a mechanical tracking
system, but the two systems are completely different.

To understand how MPPT works, let’s first consider the operation of a conventional (non-
MPPT) charge controller. When a conventional controller is charging a discharged battery, it
simply connects the modules directly
to the battery. This forces the
modules to operate at battery
voltage, typically not the ideal
operating voltage at which the
modules are able to produce their
maximum available power. The PV
Module Power/Voltage/Current graph
shows the traditional Current/Voltage
curve for a typical 75W module at
standard test conditions of 25°C cell
temperature and 1000W/m2 of
insolation. This graph also shows PV
module power delivered vs module
Typical 75W PV Module Power/Voltage/Current
voltage. For the example shown, the
At Standard Test Conditions
conventional controller simply
connects the module to the battery and therefore forces the module to operate at 12V. By forcing
the 75W module to operate at 12V the conventional controller artificially limits power production to
≈53W.

Rather than simply connecting the module to the battery, the patented MPPT system in a
Solar Boost™ charge controller calculates the voltage at which the module is able to produce
maximum power. In this example the maximum power voltage of the module (VMP) is 17V. The
MPPT system then operates the modules at 17V to extract the full 75W, regardless of present
battery voltage. A high efficiency DC-to-DC power converter converts the 17V module voltage at
the controller input to battery voltage at the output. If the whole system wiring and all was 100%
efficient, battery charge current in this example would be VMODULE ÷ VBATTERY x IMODULE, or 17V ÷
12V x 4.45A = 6.30A. A charge current increase of 1.85A or 42% would be achieved by harvesting
module power that would have been left behind by a conventional controller and turning it into
useable charge current. But, nothing is 100% efficient and actual charge current increase will be

2598 Fortune Way, Suite K • Vista, CA 92081 • Phone 760-597-1642 • Fax 760-597-1731 • www.blueskyenergyinc.com
somewhat lower as some power is lost in wiring, fuses, circuit breakers, and in the Solar Boost
charge controller.

Actual charge current increase varies

with operating conditions. As shown above,
the greater the difference between PV module
maximum power voltage VMP and battery
voltage, the greater the charge current
increase will be. Cooler PV module cell
temperatures tend to produce higher VMP and
therefore greater charge current increase.
This is because VMP and available power
increase as module cell temperature
decreases as shown in the PV Module
Temperature Performance graph. Modules
with a 25°C VMP rating higher than 17V will
also tend to produce more charge current
increase because the difference between
actual VMP and battery voltage will be greater.
A highly discharged battery will also increase
charge current since battery voltage is lower,
and output to the battery during MPPT could
be thought of as being “constant power”.
Typical PV Module Temperature Performance

What most people see in cool comfortable temperatures with typical battery conditions is a charge
current increase of between 10 – 25%. Cooler temperatures and highly discharged batteries can
produce increases in excess of 30%. Customers in cold climates have reported charge current
increases in excess of 40%. What this means is that current increase tends to be greatest when it
is needed most; in cooler conditions when days are short, sun is low on the horizon, and batteries
may be more highly discharged. In conditions where extra power is not available (highly charged
battery and hot PV modules) a Solar Boost charge controller will perform as a conventional PWM
type controller. Home Power Magazine has presented RV Power Products (now Blue Sky Energy,
Inc.) with two Things-That-Work articles; Solar Boost 2000 in HP#73 Oct./Nov. 1999, and Solar
Boost 50 in HP#77 June/July 2000, Links to these articles can be found on the Blue Sky Energy,
Inc. web site at www.blueskyenergyinc.com.

Richard A. Cullen
President
Blue Sky Energy, Inc.

2598 Fortune Way, Suite K • Vista, CA 92081 • Phone 760-597-1642 • Fax 760-597-1731 • www.blueskyenergyinc.com
 Maximum power point tracker

A maximum power point tracker (or MPPT) is a high efficiency DC to DC converter which functions as
an optimal electrical load for a photovoltaic (PV) cell, most commonly for a solar panel or array, and
converts the power to a voltage or current level which is more suitable to whatever load the system is
designed to drive.

PV cells have a single operating point where the values of the current (I) and Voltage (V) of the cell result
in a maximum power output. These values correspond to a particular resistance, which is equal to V/I as
specified by Ohm's Law. A PV cell has an exponential relationship between current and voltage, and the
maximum power point (MPP) occurs at the knee of the curve, where the resistance is equal to the negative
of the differential resistance (V/I = -dV/dI). Maximum power point trackers utilize some type of control
circuit or logic to search for this point and thus to allow the converter circuit to extract the maximum power
available from a cell.

Battery-less grid-tied PV inverters utilize MPPTs to extract the maximum power from a PV array, convert
this to alternating current (AC) and sell excess energy back to the operators of the power grid.

Off-grid power systems also use MPPT charge controllers to extract the maximum power from a PV array.
When the immediate power requirements for other devices plugged into the power system are less than the
power currently available, the MPPT stores the "extra" energy -- energy that is not immediately consumed
during the day -- in batteries. When other devices plugged into the power system require more power than
is currently available from the PV array, the MPPT drains energy from those batteries in order to make up
the lack. MPPT charge controllers are quickly becoming more affordable and are more common in use now
than ever before.

The benefits of MPPT regulators are greatest during cold weather, on cloudy or hazy days or when the
battery is deeply discharged. Solar MPPTs can also be used to drive motors directly from solar panels. The
benefits seen are huge, especially if the motor load is continuously changing. This is due to the fact that the
AC impedance across the motor is related to the motor's speed. The MPPT will switch the power to match
the varying resistance.

Solar cell I-V curves where a line

intersects the knee of the curves
where the maximum power point is
located
 Maximum-power-point-tracking solar battery charger

Sustainable electrical sources like solar photovoltaic arrays are becoming increasingly important as
environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. But, while they’re nice for the environment,
sustainable sources aren’t always easy to apply. These sources are characterized by both stringent peak-
power limitations and “use it or lose it” availability. Successful application of sustainable energy sources
therefore depends on strict attention to efficiency in both power conversion and energy storage.

For small systems, workable energy-management schemes usually include a rechargeable battery and
battery charger. A shortcoming of this solution is that ordinary battery chargers, even efficient ones, do an
imperfect job of squeezing the last milli-watt from sustainable sources over realistic combinations of
ambient and battery conditions.

The circuit shown addresses this problem in small solar power systems (Fig. 1).
 It works by continuously optimizing the interface
between the solar array and battery. The principle
in play, sometimes called Maximum Power Point
Tracking, is illustrated in the I/V and P/V curves
for a typical photovoltaic array (Fig. 2) exposed to
“standard” sunlight intensity (insolation) of 1
kW/m2.

To accommodate a useful range of insolation and

battery voltage variation, designers of solar panels
make the number of cells large enough so that a
useful level of charging current is provided even
when the light level is low and the battery voltage
is high. Consequently, when lighting conditions
happen to be more favorable, these panels can
produce up to 50% more voltage and 30% more
power than the battery wants. Simple direct
connection of panel to battery will therefore cause
inefficient operation at point “A,” with the excess
power lost as heat in the solar panel.

Figure 1 does better than that by combining a high-efficiency (≈95%) SMPS circuit (LTC1149) with an
analog power-conversion optimization loop. To understand how it works, assume battery B1 is in a state of
discharge. In this condition, E1 will accept all of the current the SMPS can supply (subject to the ≈2.5-A
current limit set by RSENSE) at a voltage around 12 V. If U1 drives Q1 to a 100% duty factor, inefficient
operation at the direct-connect point “A” will result.

However, the optimization circuit doesn’t let that happen. Instead, 50-Hz multivibrator S1/S2 causes A2 to
continuously dither Q1’s duty factor by about ±10%. The result is a dither of approximately ±1 V in V IN.
There’s also a corresponding 50-Hz modulation of the average power extracted from the solar panel as
reflected in the return current through RSENSE.

The 50-Hz ac waveform across RSENSE is filtered by R1C1 and synchronously demodulated by S3. This dc
error signal, whose polarity indicates the slope of the solar panel I/V curve wherever VIN happens to be
sitting, is integrated by A1 to close a feedback loop around A2. For example, if the SMPS happens to be
operating at a VIN below the maximum power point (VIN < VMPPT), then there will be a positive correlation
between VIN and ISENSE, and A1 will ramp toward lower average duty factors and higher VIN. By contrast,
operation at VIN > VMPPT reverses the dither phase relationship and A1 ramps toward higher duty factors
and lower VIN. Either way we get convergence toward VMPPT and maximum charging current for B1.

This mode of operation continues as B1 charges and its voltage rises to the ≈14.1-V terminal-voltage
setpoint determined by the R6-R7-R8-RT network. Once reached, A2 saturates with zero output and
normal LTC1149 constant-voltage regulation takes over. RT provides temperature compensation
appropriate for typical lead-acid battery chemistry. R2 allows for A1 offset nulling, which is particularly
important at low panel output levels. The circuit makes no provision for preventing reverse current from
being drawn from the battery under no-light conditions, but since the drain—even in total darkness—is less
than 3 mA (comparable to typical battery self-discharge rates), adding a blocking diode would actually
reduce overall efficiency.
 The MPPT technique has much wider application
than just photovoltaics alone. That’s because
conceptually similar functionality of power output
versus loading can be seen in the I/V curves of
other sustainable energy sources. Such sources are
small water turbines (e.g. the “Peltonwheel”
impulse turbine of Figure 3) and fixed-pitch-rotor
wind-power turbines, when either is combined with
constant field alternators.

The voltage, current, and power produced by any of

these sources is highly variable in response to
ambient conditions (insolation, hydrostatic head, or
windspeed) and dramatically dependent on the
electrical impedance of the imposed load (V vs. I).
Under any combination of ambient conditions, each
of these sources is characterized by exactly one
ideal load impedance, which will result in operation
at VMPPT and maximum power transfer. Also of
benefit is the simplifying absence of confusing local
maxima in the power versus voltage curves.

Of course, the actual physics behind the I/V curves for the various sources are very different. In the case of
photovoltaics, the primary energy-producing process is recombination of photoelectric charge carriers and
how the rate of such recombination varies with output voltage, temperature, and insolation. For wind-
power generators, the dominant parameter is the interaction of “Tip Speed Ratio” (defined as turbine
peripheral velocity divided by wind speed) with the aerodynamic design of the turbine. For small
hydroelectric generators, it’s the fluid dynamics of the turbine or “runner” as they relate to the pressure and
volume of the available water source. But the MPPT charger really doesn’t care about these details. It just
blindly climbs the I/V curve to the VMPPT summit.

Figure 1’s circuit can therefore be easily adapted to any of these systems. The only modification necessary
is a bigger C2 (0.1 µF to 1µF) to slow the dither rate to 5-Hz to 0.5-Hz frequencies compatible with the
inertial time constant of mechanical power sources. In addition, wind-power applications will benefit from
an overspeed preventer. This VIN-limiting circuit is basically just a big Zener diode connected across the
input terminals that dumps excess power in conditions of high wind speeds and low battery demand.
Consequently, it prevents overrevving of the turbine and alternator. For higher power applications (25 W
and up) or other output voltage ranges, consult Linear Technology LTC1149 application literature.