A New Low-Cost Centralized MPPT Controller System for Multiply Distributed Photovoltaic Power Conditioning Modules

In this paper, an integrated maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller system using a ZigBee wireless communication module is proposed for multimodal power converters as a concept of an intelligent photovoltaic (PV) module of PV power conditioning systems. The proposed scheme can integrate all information under a single host controller to realize low-cost manufacturing. It can also simplify the monitoring and supervision processes through machine-to-machine communications for the smart-grid. The voltage and current information for each module are periodically sampled and transferred to the central inverter (or another host server) through the ZigBee module. After the transmission process, the MPPT control algorithm derives each of the PV voltage reference parameters to return to each PV module accordingly. The technical benefits of the proposed approach is the configuration of a PV-controller system composed of a single digital-signal processor (DSP), low-cost analog controllers, and some mandatory communication peripherals used to monitor the distributed multimodules. Also, the method is quite desirable for supervision and monitoring of the overall system due to its centralized control structure. For the experimental validation of the proposed MPPT control, multiple ZigBee (XBee-PRO series) modules, as well as a DSP, dual-module solar simulators, and a couple of 50 W dc-dc power conversion hardware prototypes were utilized.