“IMPROVING MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKER OF SOLAR CHARGERS USING

FUZZY LOGIC”

Lyka Lopez Belicena

Gepel Vidal Ontanillas

Hannah Faith Leaño Sulong

Hanie Len Manejero Viejo

April,2019
Chapter 1 Introduction

Background of the Study

The power consumption of our society changes every year. On the

other hand, power generation from traditional reserves such as
coal and oil are currently being overtaken by rapidly developing
energy alternatives such as solar power. The increase on power
consumption is due to the industries and rapid advancement of
the current technology which will need optimal energy generation
by renewable sources of energy. According to the Department of
Energy of the Philippines, solar energy contributed only about
1.27% of the total power generated in 2017. This is due to the
low number of solar energy plants and power losses. Solar power
has advantages such as less maintenance, zero pollution and
abundant, therefore, it could be used as one of the major
sources of power generation in the Philippines. Due to
advancement in solar panel production, the price of solar panel
decreased.
Nowadays solar energy has great importance. Because it is
easily available resource for energy generation. But the only
problem is efficiency of solar system. And to increase its
efficiency many MPPT techniques
are used. Large number of papers were published on Maximum Power
Point techniques (MPPT). And therefore many techniques are
available for use. These techniques differs in many aspects.
Incremental conductance is one of the important technique in
this system and because of its higher steady-state accuracy and
environmental adaptability it is widely implemented tracked
control strategy. This paper presents details of Incremental
Conductance algorithm with simulation results obtained using
MATLAB and SIMULINK Chafle, S. R., & Vaidya, U. B. (2013). Incremental conductance MPPT
technique FOR PV system. International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and
Instrumentation Engineering, 2(6), 2720-2726.)
Photovoltaic (PV) systems have been used for many decades.
Today, with the focus on greener sources of power, PV
has become an important source of power for a wide range of
applications. Improvements in converting light energy
into electrical energy as well as the cost reductions have
helped create this growth. Even with higher efficiency and
lower cost, the goal remains to maximize the power from the PV
system under various lighting conditions.[2]
Unfortunately, PV generation systems have two major problems:
the conversion efficiency of electric power generation
is very low (9÷17%), especially under low irradiation
conditions, and the amount of electric power generated by solar
arrays changes continuously with weather conditions.Moreover,
the solar cell V-I characteristic is nonlinear and varies with
irradiation and temperature. In general, there is a
unique point on the V-I or V-P curve, called the Maximum Power
Point (MPP), at which the entire PV system (array,
converter, etc…) operates with maximum efficiency and produces
its maximum output power. The location of the MPP
is not known, but can be located, either through calculation
models or by search algorithms. Therefore Maximum
Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques are needed to maintain
the PV array‟s operating point at its MPP[1].( Chafle, S. R., & Vaidya, U.
B. (2013). Incremental conductance MPPT technique FOR PV system. International Journal of
Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(6), 2720-2726.)

The power rating of a solar panel is not equal to its actual

rating this can affect the overall performance of the system.
Using the appropriate solar charge controller can improve the
overall performance of the system. Solar charge controllers that
uses Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is one of the most
effective devices to improve the performance of a solar panel
system.

Incremental conductance Method computes the maximum power

and controls directly the extracted power from the PV. The
proposed method offers different advantages which are: good
tracking efficiency, response is high and well control for the
extracted power.The IC can determine that the MPPT has reached
the MPP and stop perturbing the operating point.( Chafle, S. R., & Vaidya,
U. B. (2013). Incremental conductance MPPT technique FOR PV system. International Journal of
Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(6), 2720-2726.)

Incremental Conductance was designed based on an

observation of P-V characteristic curve. This algorithm was
developed in 1993 and was intended to overcome some drawback of
P&O algorithm. IC tries to improve the tracking time and to
produce more energy on a vast irradiation changes environment.
The simulation result shown the IC method had a better
performance when it compared to P&O method. The IC method also
successfully suppressed the oscillation around MPP point but the
drawback is it had a slower tracking time. The tracking time can
be improved by adjusting the increment/decrement step of duty
cycle. The increment/decrement step also could be adaptively
changed to achieve a better time
response.(file:///C:/Users/Emachine/Desktop/Incremental%20Conductance%202.pdf)
 For instance, the incremental conductance method allows the
use of state space control and modelling, which enables the use
of established control design tools, stability analysis and
rigorous assessment of system robustness to different
parameters. For these reasons, the focus of this work pertains
to the incremental conductance method, as applied to small and
medium power applications (,50 kW).( http://www.ele.utoronto.ca/wp/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/G_Kish-J32.pdf)
Among all the MPPT strategies, the incremental conductance
technique is widely used due to the high tracking accuracy at
steady state and good adaptability to the rapidly changing
atmospheric conditions (Rezk, H., & Eltamaly, A. M. (2015). A comprehensive comparison
of different MPPT techniques for photovoltaic systems. Solar energy, 112, 1-11.)

Fuzzy

The term fuzzy logic is used in this paper to describe an

imprecise logical system, FL, in which the truth-values are
fuzzy subsets of the unit interval with linguistic labels such
as true, false, not true, very true, quite true, not very true
and not very false, etc. The truth-value set, ℐ, of FL is assumed
to be generated by a context-free grammar, with a semantic rule
providing a means of computing the meaning of each linguistic
truth-value in ℐ as a fuzzy subset of [0, 1].

Since ℐ is not closed under the operations of negation,

conjunction, disjunction and implication, the result of an
operation on truth-values in ℐ requires, in general, a linguistic
approximation by a truth-value in ℐ. As a consequence, the truth
tables and the rules of inference in fuzzy logic are (i) inexact
and (ii) dependent on the meaning associated with the primary
truth-value true as well as the modifiers very, quite, more or
less, etc.

Approximate reasoning is viewed as a process of approximate

solution of a system of relational assignment equations. This
process is formulated as a compositional rule of inference which
subsumes modus ponens as a special case. A characteristic
feature of approximate reasoning is the fuzziness and
nonuniqueness of consequents of fuzzy premisses. Simple examples
of approximate reasoning are: (a) Most men are vain; Socrates is
a man; therefore, it is very likely that Socrates is vain. (b) x
is small; x and y are approximately equal; therefore y is more
or less small, where italicized words are labels of fuzzy sets.
(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00485052?fbclid=IwAR1taN1g0u4f_nBgFervC4hwdiuW-
LtOv7ANiz8dnMly6DOohq7gTy4PHio)
Fuzzy logic is extremely useful for many people involved in research and development
including engineers (electrical, mechanical, civil, chemical, aerospace, agricultural,
biomedical, computer, environmental, geological, industrial, and mechatronics),
mathematicians, computer software developers and researchers, natural scientists
(biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics), medical researchers, social scientists
(economics, management, political science, and psychology), public policy analysts,
business analysts, and jurists.
Indeed, the applications of fuzzy logic, once thought to be an obscure mathematical
curiosity, can be found in many engineering and scientific works. Fuzzy logic has been
used in numerous applications such as facial pattern recognition, air conditioners,
washing machines, vacuum cleaners, antiskid braking systems, transmission systems,
control of subway systems and unmanned helicopters, knowledge-based systems for
multiobjective optimization of power systems, weather forecasting systems, models for
new product pricing or project risk assessment, medical diagnosis and treatment plans,
and stock trading. Fuzzy logic has been successfully used in numerous fields such as
control systems engineering, image processing, power engineering, industrial automation,
robotics, consumer electronics, and optimization. This branch of mathematics has
instilled new life into scientific fields that have been dormant for a long
time.( https://www.hindawi.com/journals/afs/2013/581879/)
In recent years, the number and variety of applications of fuzzy logic have increased significantly. The
applications range from consumer products such as cameras, camcorders, washing machines, and
microwave ovens to industrial process control, medical instrumentation, decision-support systems, and
portfolio selection.

To understand why use of fuzzy logic has grown, you must first understand what is meant by fuzzy logic.

Fuzzy logic has two different meanings. In a narrow sense, fuzzy logic is a logical system, which is an
extension of multivalued logic. However, in a wider sense fuzzy logic (FL) is almost synonymous with the
theory of fuzzy sets, a theory which relates to classes of objects with unsharp boundaries in which
membership is a matter of degree. In this perspective, fuzzy logic in its narrow sense is a branch of FL.
Even in its more narrow definition, fuzzy logic differs both in concept and substance from traditional
multivalued logical systems.

In Fuzzy Logic Toolbox™ software, fuzzy logic should be interpreted as FL, that is, fuzzy logic in its wide
sense. The basic ideas underlying FL are explained in Foundations of Fuzzy Logic. What might be added
is that the basic concept underlying FL is that of a linguistic variable, that is, a variable whose values are
words rather than numbers. In effect, much of FL may be viewed as a methodology for computing with
words rather than numbers. Although words are inherently less precise than numbers, their use is closer
to human intuition. Furthermore, computing with words exploits the tolerance for imprecision and thereby
lowers the cost of solution.

Another basic concept in FL, which plays a central role in most of its applications, is that of a fuzzy if-then
rule or, simply, fuzzy rule. Although rule-based systems have a long history of use in Artificial Intelligence
(AI), what is missing in such systems is a mechanism for dealing with fuzzy consequents and fuzzy
antecedents. In fuzzy logic, this mechanism is provided by the calculus of fuzzy rules. The calculus of
fuzzy rules serves as a basis for what might be called the Fuzzy Dependency and Command Language
(FDCL). Although FDCL is not used explicitly in the toolbox, it is effectively one of its principal
constituents. In most of the applications of fuzzy logic, a fuzzy logic solution is, in reality, a translation of a
human solution into FDCL.

A trend that is growing in visibility relates to the use of fuzzy logic in combination with neurocomputing
and genetic algorithms. More generally, fuzzy logic, neurocomputing, and genetic algorithms may be
viewed as the principal constituents of what might be called soft computing. Unlike the traditional, hard
computing, soft computing accommodates the imprecision of the real world. The guiding principle of soft
computing is: Exploit the tolerance for imprecision, uncertainty, and partial truth to achieve tractability,
robustness, and low solution cost. In the future, soft computing could play an increasingly important role
in the conception and design of systems whose MIQ (Machine IQ) is much higher than that of systems
designed by conventional methods.

Among various combinations of methodologies in soft computing, the one that has highest visibility at this
juncture is that of fuzzy logic and neurocomputing, leading to neuro-fuzzy systems. Within fuzzy logic,
such systems play a particularly important role in the induction of rules from observations. An effective
method developed by Dr. Roger Jang for this purpose is called ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference
System). This method is an important component of the toolbox.

Fuzzy logic is all about the relative importance of precision: How important is it to be exactly right when a
rough answer will do?

You can use Fuzzy Logic Toolbox software with MATLAB® technical computing software as a tool for
solving problems with fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is a fascinating area of research because it does a good job
of trading off between significance and precision — something that humans have been managing for a
very long time.

In this sense, fuzzy logic is both old and new because, although the modern and methodical science of
fuzzy logic is still young, the concepts of fuzzy logic relies on age-old skills of human reasoning

You can create and edit fuzzy inference systems with Fuzzy Logic Toolbox software. You can create
these systems using graphical tools or command-line functions, or you can generate them automatically
using either clustering or adaptive neuro-fuzzy techniques.

If you have access to Simulink ® software, you can easily test your fuzzy system in a block diagram
simulation environment.

The toolbox also lets you run your own stand-alone C programs directly. This is made possible by a
stand-alone Fuzzy Inference Engine that reads the fuzzy systems saved from a MATLAB session. You
can customize the stand-alone engine to build fuzzy inference into your own code. All provided code is
ANSI® compliant.

( https://www.mathworks.com/help/fuzzy/what-is-fuzzy-logic.html)

Statement of the Problem

General Objective
 This study aims to develop the current Maximum Power Point

Tracker (MPPT) solar charge controller using Fuzzy Logic.

Specific Objectives

Specifically, the study aims to:

1. Create a Fuzzy Logic instruction set for MPPT Solar

Charge Controller.

2. Determine the efficiency of the fuzzy Logic MPPT Solar

Charge Controller.

3. Compare the results of the Fuzzy Logic MPPT Solar Charge

Controller to the existing MPPT Solar Charge Controller.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will be benefitted by the following:

Solar energy industry, the researchers’ algorithm may improve

the current MPPT for better efficiency of solar power

Solar power consumers, the individual Solar power consumers

will benefit if they are using MPPT charge controllers

The researchers, future researchers can further develop this

study.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of clarity and understanding, the following

terms were defined conceptually and its operational definition

MATLAB is a high–performance language for technical

computing. It integrates computation, visualization, and

programing in an easy–to–use environment where problems and

solutions are expressed in familiar mathematical notation

(cimss.ssec.wisc.edu).

Maximum Power Point Tracker is an algorithm that is included

in charge controllers used for extracting maximum available

power from PV module under certain conditions (Leonics, 2013).

In this study MPPT was improved.

Fuzzy logic a system of logic in which a statement can be

true, false, or any of a continuum of values in between

(Merriam-Webster, 2014). This will be used in the developing of

the algorithm.

Solar Charge Controller a device that manages the power

going into the battery bank from the solar array (altEstore,
2016). This device will be used to store and execute the Fuzzy

Logic algorithm.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study is limited in developing a “photovoltaic system

simulation model” that uses incremental conductance with fuzzy

logic algorithm as MPPT solar charge controller using MATLAB.

Chapter 2 Related Literature

Solar Power System

The Solar Power system mentioned in this study will consist of

a solar panel, solar charge controller, battery and load. The

solar panel converts the light rays from the sun into electrical

energy (insert citation). This electrical is then passed to the

solar charge controller where its voltage and current is

regulated (citation1) and passed through the battery. A deep-

cycle battery is used to store the energy.

Solar Charge Controllers

Solar charge controllers regulate the output of the solar panel

to prevent the batteries from over charging (citation1). There

are three commonly used types of solar charge controllers. Shunt

solar charge controller which use relays or shunt transistors to

connect or disconnect the solar panel depending whether the

battery is to be charged or not (citation1). Pulse Width

Modulation solar charge controllers which lowers the amount of

power applied to the battery as it gets close to being fully

charged (citation2). Last is the Maximum Power Point Tracking

(MPPT), it converts the excess voltage generated by the solar

panel in to current so that it has more power when charging the

battery (citation1) (citation2).

Maximum Power Point Tracking

Maximum power point tracking has different techniques some

these are, Perturb & Observe, Incremental Conductance and Fuzzy

Logic Control.

Hussein et al. presented different techniques followed in

tracking the maximum power of PV arrays with a particular

emphasis on the conventional P&O technique. The drawbacks of the

P&O algorithm, especially in case of rapidly varying atmospheric

conditions, were discussed and analyzed. Mathematical models

were used to simulate the PV array for their performance

analysis under randomly varying atmospheric conditions. To

overcome the disadvantages of slow convergence and oscillation

around the MPP, Salas et al, has improved the P&O method by

using the PV panel current as the variable for the calculation

of the duty cycle. In this technique, a new low cost MPPT

controller was implemented considering current from the PV panel

as the only control variable and was compared with the

conventional MPPT configurations under different atmospheric

conditions. The results obtained show that based on the charge

state of the batteries; the MPPT can increase the overall

efficiency of the system. In P&O technique, fixed step size

perturbation consumes much time to track MPP and the steady

state power loss associated is high due to oscillations of 13

operating point around MPP. Without considering the state of

charge of the batteries and to overcome the disadvantages of the

traditional P&O method, a simple and effective MPPT scheme based

on 2-dimensional lookup table was proposed. In this scheme, the

MPP voltages of PV module are maintained at a reference value

using PWM technique for variable irradiances and temperatures.

The PV module voltage values are directly obtained from a 2-

dimensional lookup table and the maximum power is obtained. INC

technique overcomes the disadvantages of perturbation based

techniques as it has high precision of tracking even under

rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. In this technique, the

perturbation size is wisely selected such that the oscillations

around the peak point are avoided and ensures soft starting of

the system under all the possible variations in the solar

irradiance. Though there are some improvements over P&O

technique, research results show that while adapting the INC

method, the improvements are at the cost of increased complexity

of implementation. FLC is an effective tool to extract the

maximum power from the PV system as this method is robust and

simple to design and also it can handle non-linear systems.

These techniques have the advantage of utilizing the human

expert knowledge instead of mathematical models to address the

real world problems. But the main drawback with the fuzzy logic

based approach is that as the number of variables increases, the

number of membership function and the fuzzy rules also

increases.

Fuzzy Logic

Fuzzy logic is a mathematical term, whose use is observed

by many researchers in different fields during different time

periods. Fuzzy logic is a proposition that may be true or false

or have an intermediate true value. It is formed to handle the

concept of partial truth. Degree of truth is represented by

membership function. A membership function on a set X is any

function from X to a real unit interval [O, l]. The value 0

represents the false value, represents truth value and the value

between 0 and l represents partial truth. One of the major

advantages of fuzzy logic is that it

Fuzzy Logic Controller

FLCs have been widely used for industrial processes owing

to their heuristic nature associated with simplicity and

effectiveness for both linear and nonlinear systems (Veerachary

et al. 2003). Fuzzy Logic Controller is one branch of the

intelligent control in which the concept of Fuzzy Logic

Controller is achieved by mimicking and adopting the behavior of

human being (Radianto et al. 2015). Fuzzy logic is one of the

most powerful control methods. It is known by multi-rules-based

resolution and multivariable consideration (Sankar et al 2017).

Summary

MPPT Solar Charge Controllers can be further improved. P &

O and IC method can be further improved by using FLC.

Chapter 3 Methodology

Research Design

The research design is a developmental research. The

researchers will create an algorithm using fuzzy logic for MPPT.
An instruction set for the FLC will be created. The efficiency
of the InCFLC MPPT charge controller will be determined. The
gathered results will be then compared to the existing IC MPPT
charge controller.

InC Flowchart Fuzzy Logic Simulation &

instruction set Data Gathering
Diagrams of
existing Data Simulation Model Evaluation of
Simulated Model
FLC

MATLAB
Design and specifications

^ amu ni ang controller

Materials, tools and equipment

Laptop, this will be used to run the software needed in

conducting this study.

MATLAB, this software will be used to develop and execute

the algorithms.

Excel, this software will be used in tabulating and

calculation of gathered results.

Construction procedure
 A Fuzzy logic inference system will be created using the
fuzzy logic toolbox.

An algorithm will be formulated which is the used for the

MPPT controller. A simulation model will be constructed on
MATLAB.

Sources of Data

The data will be gathered from the output of the simulated

model. Existing data will be gathered from other sources.

Data analysis procedure

The gathered simulation data will be then compared to the

existing data about INC MPPT. The results will show the
differences of the two data. The results will be then tabulated
and analyzed. The deviation of the IC MPPT will be compared to
the deviation of the IC with Fuzzy MPPT. The results will be
then compared and the difference of the deviation will be
calculated.
Chapter 4

Results and Discussion

Descriptive Data Analysis