Proceedings of 2009 ,(((Student Conference on Research and Development (SCOReD 2009),

16-18 Nov. 2009, UPM Serdang, Malaysia

Maximum Power Point Tracking in Grid Connected
PV System Using A Novel Fuzzy Logic Controller
Subiyanto, A Mohamed, M A Hannan
Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
biyantote_unnes@yahoo.com, azah@eng.ukm.my, hannan@eng.ukm.my

AbstractThis paper presents modeling and simulation of a grid as a reference. This study also investigates the performance of
connected photovoltaic (PV) system with maximum power point the grid connected PV system when operating under various
tracking (MPPT) using a novel fuzzy logic controller (FLC). The load conditions as well as islanding condition.
system composed of a PV array, boost converter with MPPT and
a three phase inverter connected to utility grid. The MPPT is
based on fuzzy logic to control IGBT switch of the boost II. MODEL OF SYSTEM
converter. The performance of the proposed FLC for MPPT is The grid connected PV system consists of a PV array, boost
evaluated by simulation and the results show that the FLC is converter with MPPT, FLC, inverter with filter, grid and loads
faster and more stable in finding the maximum power point than as shown in Fig. 1.
the conventional perturbation and observation method. The
performance of the PV system subjected to load variation and
islanding is also investigated.

Keywords photovoltaic; MPPT; grid-connected; Fuzzy Logic

I. INTRODUCTION
Due to growing demand for electrical energy and
environmental issues such as pollution and global warming
effect, solar energy is considered as a technological option for
generating clean energy. However, the widespread use of PV
poses several challenges such as increasing the efficiency of
PV conversion, ensuring the reliability of power electronic
converters and meeting the requirements for grid connection,
such as anti-islanding protection [1]. Another drawback of PV
system is that it does not provide a constant energy source
because its output power changes with temperature and
irradiation or insolation [2]. Figure 1. Block Diagram of the Grid Connected PV system.

An important consideration in the use of PV systems is to
operate the system near maximum power point (MPP) so as to
increase the output efficiency of PV. For any PV system, the
output power can be increased by tracking the MPP of the
system by using a controller connected to a boost converter
between a PV panel and load [3]. However, the MPP is
changing with insolation level and temperature due to the
nonlinear characteristic of PV systems. Therefore, the tracking
control of MPP is a complicated problem. To overcome this
problem, many MPPT control algorithms have been proposed
such as the perturbation and observation (P&O), incremental
conductance [4] and fuzzy logic control [5]. Fuzzy logic has
been used for tracking the MPP of PV systems because it has
the advantages of being robust, relatively simple to design and
does not require the knowledge of an exact model. This paper
presents the application of a novel fuzzy logic controller (FLC)
as an intelligent MPPT method for PV system operating under
various temperature and insolation conditions.
In the test PV system, the maximum power from the PV
array is converted to three phase AC by a pulse width
modulated (PWM) inverter using the grid voltage and current
The control system shown in Fig. 1 implements several control
functions to perform the following tasks:
1. Control the boost converter to find the maximum power
point of the PV output.
2. Control the inverter for synchronizing the output voltage
to the grid voltage.
3. Control the connection of PV system to the grid and load
shedding under islanding condition.
III. MPPT IMPLEMENTATION
The proposed MPPT scheme employing FLC has been
modeled and simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink. Fig. 2
shows the developed PV model system consisting of PV array,
boost converter circuit with an MPPT controller connected to
a load. The PV module considered in the simulation is the
Sanyo HIP-200BA3 in which the data of the PV module is
shown in Table I.

978-1-4244-5187-6/09/$26.00 2009 IEEE

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 TABLE I. PARAMETERS OF PV MODEULE SANYO HIP-20BA3 A. MPPT Using P&O Method
Product Sanyo In the P&O method, the MPP can be achieved by
Type HIP-200BA3
periodically incrementing or decrementing the PV array
Rated power 200 W
Efficiency of cell 19.7 % voltage with the MPPT controller continuously seeking the
Vmp 55.8 V peak power conditions [6].
Imp 3.9 A
Voc 68.7 V B. MPPT Using FLC
Isc 3.83 A Fuzzy logic has been used for tracking the MPP of PV
:current temperature coefficients 0.88
:voltage temperature coefficients -0.172
systems because it has the advantages of being robust,
relatively simple to design and does not require the knowledge
of an exact model [5, 7]. The proposed FLC for MPPT in PV
systems is based on the model developed in [8] but with a few
The PV array with a capacity of 5 kW consists of 25 PV
modifications made in the fuzzification and rule base. The
modules. The fuzzy logic based MPPT controller is simulated
and compared with the conventional P&O based MPPT main components in a FLC are fuzzification, rule-base, and
controller. The MPPT controller consists of two main parts, inference and defuzzification as shown in Fig. 5. The input
namely, FLC and current controller as depicted in Fig. 3. The variables to the FLC are the change in PV array power (Ppv)
simulation model of the grid connected PV system and change in current (Ipv) whereas the output of FLC is the
step change of boost converter current reference (Iref). The
implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK is shown in
current reference is the current that must be drawn from the PV
Fig.4.
array to the boost converter. The equations for Ppv and Ipv
are given as follows:
k
Ppv k
= V pv I kpv (1)
k
Ppv k
= Ppv k 1
Ppv (2)

I kpv = I kpv I kpv1 (3)

Figure 2. Model of the PV System and Boost Converter in

MATLAB/Simulink.

Figure 5. Structure of a Fuzzy Logic Controller.

The set of the first input variable (Ppv) is transformed in

Figure 3. MPPT controller model.
terms of its linguistic variable by using seven fuzzy subsets
which are denoted by NB (negative big), NM (negative
medium), NS (negative small), ZZ (zero), PS (positive small),
PM (positive medium), and PB (positive big). The membership
functions for the variables are shown in Fig. 6. The set of the
second input variable (Ipv) which is classified into 3 fuzzy
sets, namely, Negative (N), Zero (Z) and Positive (P) is shown
in Fig. 7. The fuzzification subset for the output variable, Iref
is depicted in Fig.8.

Figure 6. Definitions and Membership Functions of the 1st Input Variable

(Ppv).
Figure 4. Modeling of Grid Connected PV system in
MATLAB/SIMULINK.

350
 5

4.5

4 1000 W/m2

3.5
800 W/m2

PV Current (A)
3

2.5 600 W/m2

2
400 W/m2
1.5

1 200 W/m2
Figure 7. Definitions and Membership Functions of the 2nd Input Variable 0.5

(Ipv). 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
PV Voltage (V)

Figure 9. The I-V Characteristics of PV Module With Varying Irradiation in

Simulated PV and Sanyo HIP-200BA3 PV.

4.5
25 C
4
0C
3.5

3 50 C

PV Current (A)
2.5

Figure 8. Definitions and Membership Functions of the Output Variable 2

75 C

(Iref). 1.5

0.5
The fuzzy system rule base is created as shown in Table II 0

with (Ppv) and (Ipv) as inputs while Iref is the output. The
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
PV Voltage (V)

fuzzy inference of the FLC is based on the Mamdanis method

which is associated with the max-min composition. The Figure 10. The I-V Characteristic of PV Module With Varying Temperature
defuzzification technique is based on the centroid method in Simulated PV and Sanyo HIP-200BA3 PV.
which is used to compute the crisp output, Iref.
The proposed MPPT using FL is compared with the MPPT
controller using P&O algorithm in terms of its tracking
TABLE II. RULE BASE FOR THE PROPOSED FLC
capability at a standard condition with irradiation 1000 W/m2
and ambient temperature of 250C. Fig. 11 (a) shows the
Rule no. If Ppv And 9Ipv Then Iref Rule Weights transient responses of the tracked powers obtained from both
is... is... is ...
controllers. It can be observed that the tracking speed
1 PB P PB 1.0
2 PM P PM 1.0 response is significantly improved by four times by using the
3 PS P PS 1.0 FL as compared to the P&O algorithm. The steady-state
4 ZZ P PS 0.5 behaviour of the PV system using FL has smaller oscillation
5 NS P NS 1.0
and is more stable compared to the system using P&O
6 NM P NM 1.0
7 NB P NB 1.0 algorithm which has greater oscillations as illustrated in Fig.
8 PB Z PB 0.5 11 (b).
9 PM Z PM 0.5
10 PS Z PS 0.5 6000
Comparison of tracking power
Comparison of tracking power
5008.08
11 ZZ Z ZE 0.25 Fuzzy
P&O
Fuzzy
P&O
12 NS Z NS 0.5 5000
5008.06

13 NM Z NM 0.5 5008.04
4000
14 NB Z NB 0.5 5008.02
Power (watt)

Power (watt)

15 PB N NB 1.0 3000 5008

16 PM N NM 1.0 5007.98
2000
17 PS N NS 1.0 5007.96
18 ZZ N NS 0.5 1000
5007.94
19 NS N PS 1.0
20 NM N PM 1.0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
5007.92
100 105 110 115 120
Time(sec) Time(sec)
21 NB N PB 1.0
(a) (b)
Figure 11. Tracking power by FL and P&O algorithm (a) Transient
response (b) Steady state behaviour.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figs. 12(a) and (b) show the performance of the PV system
Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 show the results of the I-V using FL and P&O algorithm under constant temperature of
characteristics of the simulated and the actual PV modules as a 25C and fast changing irradiance (400, 400, 600, 600, 800,
function of irradiation and temperature, respectively. It can be 800, 1000, 1000, 800, 800, 600, 600, 400, 400 W/m2) at times
observed that the I-V curves of the simulated PV module are (0, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, 480, 540, 600, 660, 720
similar to the I-V curves of the actual Sanyo HIP-200BA3 PV and 780 second) and under constant irradiance of 1000W/m2
module as provided by the manufacturer. and changing temperature (20, 20, 25, 25, 40, 40, 50, 50, 40,

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40, 25, 25, 20 and 20C). The simulation results show that the V. CONCLUSION
performance of the FL and P&O algorithm are quite similar Simulations were carried out by using the data of the PV
under these two conditions. model Sanyo solar module HIP-200BA3. 20 PV modules were
used in order to generate a 5 kW PV generation system.
6000
Fuzzy
6000
Simulation results have shown that the proposed MPPT using
5000
P&O
fuzzy logic provides faster and stable tracking of maximum
4000
5000
power as compared to the MPPT using the P&O method.
4000
Power flow to or from the grid depends on the capacity of the
Power (watt)

Power (watt)
3000
3000 PV power and load requirements. The model developed for the
2000
2000
grid-connected PV system would be useful for the design and
1000 1000
development of a real PV generation system.
Fuzzy
P&O
0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Time (sec) Time (sec)
REFERENCES
(a) (b) [1] X. Liu and L. A. C. Lopes, An Improved Perturbation and Observation
Figure 12. PV System Response a) Constant Temperature with Variation in Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithm for PV Arrays, 35th Annul
The Irradiation b) Constant Irradiance with Variation in Temperature. IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, Aachen, Germany
2004.
Due to load increase-decrease and under Islanding in the [2] V.Salas, E.Olas, A.Barrado, A. Lazaro, Review of the maximum
power point tracking algorithms for stand-alone photovoltaic systems,
system is investigated in Fig. 13(a) and (b) respectively. Science Direct, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, Vol. 90, 2006,
pp. 15551578.
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[3] J. L. Santos, F. Antunes, A. Chehab And C. C. Cruz, A maximum
8 power point tracker for PV systems using a high performance boost
10
6 converter, Science Direct, Solar Energy, vol. 80, 2006 , pp. 772778.
4
5 [4] P. L.Vinci, Energy Comparison of MPPT Techniques for PV Systems,
Power (KW)
Power (KW)

2 WSEAS Transaction on Power Systems, Issue 6, Vol. 3, pp. 446-455.

0
-2
-4
-6
0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Time (Sec)
(a)
Figure 13. Power profile of the PV sytem when subjected to (a) load
variation (b) islanding condition.
From Fig. 13 (a) it can be seen that the power profile
due to various load conditions (increasing and decreasing).
Initially, the load is 1.9 kW and it is less than the PV power
capacity of 5 kW. Since the PV power is constant, it is capable
of supplying power to the load. The remaining PV power of
3.1 kW flows into the grid. This means that the grid power is
positive as shown in the Fig. When the load is increased to 9
kW, the PV power does not have enough power to supply to
the load and so the power is coming from the grid as indicated
by the negative grid power of -4 kW. Here, the PV still
supplies a constant power of 5 kW to the load.
The power management under islanding condition is also
investigated. The result shown in Fig. 13(b) indicates that
before islanding, the load power is 12 kW, which is higher
than the PV power of 5 kW. This causes the grid to supply
power to the load as indicated in the Fig. by -7 kW. When
islanding occurs, the connection to the grid is cut off and the
load is shed to 5 kW, which is equal to the PV power. When
the system condition is back to normal, the PV system is
reconnected to the grid and the load is increased. The results
shown here proved that the PV system is capable of operating
efficiently during grid connected and islanding conditions.
0 Load Power
PV Power
[5] N. Patcharaprakiti, S. Premrudeepreechacharn and Y. Sriuthaisiriwong,
power To Grid
Maximum Power Point Tracking Using Adaptive Fuzzy Logic Control
-5
for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System, IEEE Power Engineering
Society Winter meeting, Vol. 1, 2002, pp. 372-377.
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0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
Time (sec) [6] D. P. Hohm and M. E. Ropp, Comparative Study of Maximum Power
(b) Point Tracking Algorithms, Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 2003; 11:47
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[7] M. S. A. Cheikh, C. Larbes, G. F. T. Kebir and A Zerguerras. 2007.
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Revue des Energies Renouvelables Vol. 10 No. 3, pg. 387 395.
[8] N. S. D'Souza, L. A. C. Lopes, X. Liu, An Intelligent Maximum Power
Point Tracker Using Peak Current Control, Power Electronics
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Subiyanto received his B.Eng (Bachelor of Engineering)
from Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia in 1998
and M.Eng from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia in 2003. He is currently pursuing his Phd at
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He is a member of IEEE.
Azah Mohamed received her B.Sc from University of
London in 1978 and M.Sc and Ph.D from Universiti
Malaya in 1988 and 1995, respectively. She is a professor
at the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems
Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her main
research interests are in power system security, power
quality, artificial intelligence and renewable energy
systems. She is a senior member of IEEE.
M.A.Hannan received the B.Sc. degree in electrical and
electronic engineering from Chittagong University of
Engineering and Technology (CUET), Chittagong,
Bangladesh, in 1990. M. Sc. and Ph.D in Electrical,
Electronic & Systems from Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia in 2003 and 2007, respectively. He is a senior
lecturer His research interests are in inverter controller of
DG, FACTS & custom power devices and artificial
intelligence.

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