A Microcontroller Based Automatic Sun Tracker Combined with a New Solar Energy Conversion Unit

F. Huang

D.Tien**

*School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Canada fhuang@sfu.ca

James Or** **Department of Electrical Engineering Ngee Ann Polytechnic Singapore tid@np.ac.sg

Abstract A microcontroller based automatic sun hacker combined with a new solar energy conversion unit is designed and implemented. The automatic sun tracker is implemented with a dc motor and a dc motor controller. The solar energy conversion unit consists of an array of solar panels, a step-up chopper, a single-phase inverter, an ac mains power source and a microcontroller based control unit. The novelty of this unit is that the switching device of the chopper is not only used for power conversion but also for Maximum Power Point W P ) detection. In the existing MPP trackers, the MPP is detected by hardware. The parameters of the hardware subject to the changes of the environmental conditions. In the new unit the MFP is determined by simple embedded software with a current sweep approach. With this new approach, the modularization of the conversion l?om solar power to electric power at its maximum power point can he made more compact and more reliable.
1. Introduction
With the cost of solar cells decreasing, the conversion of solar energy to electric energy is increasingly becoming economically viable. This is particular true in a tropical country like Singapore where there is abundant solar energy available through out the year
To harvest the vast solar energy, it would be

In automatic sun tracker systems, the solar panels are rotated in such a way that the panel plane is at a right angle to the sun direction [l]. In searching for the MPP condition, many methods have been tried. The look-uptable, the perturb and observe, and the current sweep are some of the fundamental approaches. Neural Network approach [2] and Fuzzy Logic approach[3] are also reported. This paper presents the design and the implementation of a microcontroller based automatic sun tracker combined with a new solar energy conversion unit with a current sweep approach [4]. The microcontroller has three tasks: a) to control the rotation of the solar panel in a preset time interval; b) to detect the MPP; and c) to control the process of energy conversion. A dc motor together with its controller is used to control the solar panel. In the energy conversion unit, the MPP detection and the energy conversion are implemented by using a single power switching device and its driving circuit. In addition, the MPP is detected through simple software embedded in the microcontroller. The microcontroller is programmed to operate in two different modes: the tracking mode and the conversion mode. In the tracking mode, the panel is first rotated to the right direction where the open-circuit voltage of the panel is at maximum. Then, the switching device of the chopper is controlled in such a way that its current increases exponentially. Sampled panel voltages together with controlled current are used to find the MPP. In the conversion mode, the desired panel voltage corresponding to the MPP is maintained by controlling the on-off

desirable if the energy conversion units are simple, reliable, and of low cost and high efficiency. High efficiency can be achieved by controlling the unit operating at its maximum power extraction. There are two basic approaches in maximizing the power extraction: (a) using automatic sun tracker; searching for the h4FP conditions. (b)

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time of the power switching device in the step up chopper.

maximum power conversion will be maintained by controlling the panel voltage at a level around its MPP.

2. System Description
2.1

General

The system circuit diagram of the solar energy conversion is shown in Figure 1. The system is designed at 500 W using 10 solar panels connected in series and in parallel. The output voltage across the 10 solar panels is between 40 - 100 V. The system will be disabled if the voltage drops below 40 V. The panbl voltage is converted to a higher voltage through a step-up chopper. An inverter consisting of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) is then used to convert the dc voltage at the output of the chopper to mains supply.
_ .

Figure 2 Rotating positions

Position

Controller Position feedback

Converter

Figure 3 Sun tracker controller

2.2

MPP Detector

m apa - op p
Figure 1 System circuit diagram The system is activated when the panel voltage is higher than 40 V. The time interval to rotate the solar panel can be set at a desired value, say, 5 or 10 minutes. At the beginning of each interval, the panel is rotated first to p, position, as shown in Figure 2, then to p2 position. If the panel voltage, Vp, at p2 is greater than that at pl, then the panel is advanced further. Until the position where the open circuit voltage of the panel is less than the one at tl?e previous position. The sun tracking is completed by rotating one position back, p3. The positions shown in Figure 2 are used as the input references of the tracker controller, shown in Figure 3. In the next 10 milliseconds, the MF'P will be detected and the voltage corresponding to the MF'P will be memorized. For the rest of the interval, the energy conversion at its

The maximum power point corresponds to the peak of the power

P@) = v(t)i(r)

(1)

where v(t) and i(t) are solar panel terminal voltage and output current. Under the h4F'P condition, the derivative of p(t) with respect to v(t) and i(t) is zero

To detect the MF'P, the panel current can be swept through from zero to its maximum value in a period of time. Assuming the sweeping current is

i(t) = f

(0

(4)

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The power of the panel along this sweep current is P(t)= v(t)i(t) (5) The panels deliver maximum power when the derivative of fit) is zero

.. .

.. .

The sweeping current can be further assumed that

In the MPP detection mode, an exponential sweeping current is generated. Referring to Figure 4, at the beginning, SI is kept close and S2 is kept open. A voltage step increase at the output of the buffer will result in an exponential increase of the voltage across the capacitor. The time constant, T = RC is designed to be 10 ms. The two Darlington transistors TIP112 and TIP 117 function as voltage to current source converter. The exponential increase of the voltage at the base of the TIPl 12 results in an exponential increase of the current at the collector of the TIPl 17.

where k is a constant. Equation (7) can be simulified to

(9)

Assuming the derivative of f(t) is not zero in the sweeping period, then the condition

* k

dt _..

+ v(t)= 0
Figure 4 Control circuit Once the microcontroller initiated the sweeping current, it starts to obtain the information of the panel voltage. The panel voltage is sampled at every 100 p. The conversion of the voltage from analog to digital values is done by AD 7824 which is a 8 bits, 4 channels IC with a conversion time of 2 . 5 ~ Starting from the . second point of the converted voltage, the condition, shown in (IO) is tested.
The MPP condition (IO) can be described in a digital form

can be used to detect the MF'P. To define the function of the sweeping current, (8) is solved
f -

(11) where A is an arbitrary constant of the general solution. If k in (8) is selected as a negative real number and A is selected as the maximum sweeping current, I, , the sweeping current becomes an exponential function decreasing, with a time constant T = k, from I to zero. ,

f ( t ) = Ae'

23 ..

Control Implementation

A single control circuit is designed for both the MPP detection and the control of power conversion. Figure 4 shows the diagram of the control circuit. The input of the control circuit is the feedback signal from the panel voltage. The output is a current source to drive the power transistor in the chopper circuit.

(k'+l)v(i+ I ) - v ( i ) = O

(12)

where k = TAt, At = 100 ps, and i = 1 , 2 , 3 --. ' Testing of the MF'P condition is programmed in software. The program simply tests whether the following condition is held,

490

I(k'+l)v(i + 1) - v(i)l I E

(13)

where E is a very small value. If the condition is satisfied, the detection mode will be terminated and the conversion mode will be initiated. The last value of the panal voltage is memorized. This voltage is us,ed as the reference in the conversion mode. In the conversion mode, both SI and S2 are kept open. The voltage to current converter (TIP1 12 and TIPl17) is now working in switching mode, not in amplifying mode. The panel voltage is sampled every 5 ps. The sampled voltage, which is the actual panel voltage, is compared with the reference voltage in the microcontroller. When the actual voltage is higher than the reference one. a loeic high is uroduced at the output of the microcontroller. 'This pulse, through the voltage to current converter, turns on the power transistor in the chopper circuit. When the actual voltage falls below the reference voltage, the microcontroller produces a logic low. This logic low then switches off the power transistor. The control of the panel voltage under its MPP condition, is achieved by controlling the on-off duration of the power transistor.
I -

Figure 5 MF'P at illumination level A a) panel voltage, 2Ov/div (top) b) panel output power, 5OW/div (middle) c) panel output current, 1Ndiv (bottom)
Y

Figure 6 MPP at illumination level B a) panel voltage, 2Ov/div (top) b) panel output power, 5OW/div (middle) c) panel output current, 1Ndiv (bottom) Once the MPP is detected, the voltage or current at this sampling point are memorized and used as the reference information. To control the actual panel voltage or current in a band of the reference, hysteresis control is used. Figure 7 shows the voltage across the solar panel when the panel voltage is controlled. As shown in the Figure, when the power switch is in the off-state (high voltage), the panel voltage is built up. After it reaches the top limit, the switch is switched on, the charging current through the inductance increases. This, in turn, results in the panel voltage drops. When the voltage drops below the low limit, the switch is cut off again. The current built up in the inductance discharges through the dc link. Meantime, the panel voltage is building up again. This is repeated in every 80ps. Figure 8 shows the panel output current when the current is controlled.

The control of the inverter which converts DC to single phase or three phase AC power for solar energy conversion has lbeen well described [5,6].

3. Test Results
The modular unit is tested with two solar panels connected in series. Figure 5 and 6 show the waveforms of the panel voltage, current and power at two different illumination levels. An exponential current is repeatedly generated in every 40 ms. The sweeping current takes about 10 ms. Setting the interval between two sweeping currents at 20 ms is only for testing of the MPP detection

49 I

References

Figure 7 Voltage controlled power conversion a) voltage across the power switch (top) b) voltage across the solar panel (bottom) (2OV/div, IOOpddiv)

__ t 7.. y y_ - M
- !_..j _..i.....I - . ._.I !.- ._ .. _. ..,... .__.. ......_..- .j.~:::, . ,__
I.

I 1 .L.-! ....4 L...!.-.J!._..i..lfs I I

e0 .0 . w D

Figure 8 Current controlled power conversion a) voltage across the power switch (top) b) voltage across the solar panel (bottom) (2OV/div, IOOps/div)

4. Conclusions

A microcontroller based automatic sun tracker combined with a new solar energy conversion unit has been designed and implemented. High efficiency is achieved through the automatic sun tracker and the MPP detector. In this system, the MPP detection and the power conversion are realized by using the same hardware circuit. In the existing MPP detectors, the detection of the MPP is achieved by using analog computing, comparing, and holding. In contrast to the existing ones, in the new system, the MFP is detected by sofhvare which is embedded in a microcontroller. It can be concluded that with the new design the solar energy converter can be made more compact, reliable, and cost effective.

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