Analytical and experimental analysis of DC-DC converters in photovoltaic maximum Power Point Tracking applications

Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPT) systems are essential devices employed to maximize the power flow from a photovoltaic module (or array) to a load. In most of applications, the MPPT is composed by a DC-DC converter interposed between the referred photovoltaic module and load. Among the main DC-DC converters, the Buck-type and Boost-type are not proper for this purpose, since they cannot ensure that the operating point will match the maximum power point for all radiation and temperature conditions. On the other hand, as it will be demonstrated theoretically and by experimentation, the Buck-Boost, Cúk, Sepic, Zeta, or any other DC-DC converter with static transfer characteristic given by D/(1-D), are the natural solution in Maximum Power Point Tracking applications.