An intelligent search algorithm for the maximum power point of a photovoltaic system in fast-changing environmental conditions

This paper presents a novel maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm that is optimized for a photovoltaic (PV) system under rapid changes in environmental conditions. This new approach employs the dividing rectangles (DIRECT) algorithm to improve both the speed and accuracy simultaneously, which is the contradiction in conventional methods such as “Perturb and Observe” (P&O) and Incremental Conductance (INC) schemes. This is particularly important for systems that frequently experience rapidly changing environmental conditions. To validate the performance of the proposed scheme, both simulation and experimental studies have been conducted. The results have shown that the new approach outperforms the conventional algorithms.