PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT OF SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM WITH TRACKING SYSTEM

Abstract

Renewable energy sources particularly photovoltaic are proven to be both clean and economical. But the major limitation of photovoltaic system is its low efficiency and high capital cost. It is therefore, a small" enhancement in performance in cell drastically reduces per unit cost of energy. Major influences on overall efficiency include solar cell efficiency, intensity of source radiation and storage techniques. The materials used in solar cell manufacturing limit the efficiency- of a solar cell. This makes it particularly difficult to make considerable improvements in the performance of the cell, and hence restricts the efficiency of the overall collection process. Therefore, the most attainable method of improving the performance of solar power collection is to increase the mean intensity of radiation received from the source. By moving the PV panels to track the sun rays orthogonally results in efficiency improvement. Similarly, power output of a solar PV module changes with change in solar insolation level and temperature. Hence, it is desirable to operate the module at the peak power point so that the maximum power can be delivered to the load under varying environmental conditions. The present work describes the combined effect of mechanical sun tracking and maximum peak power tracking on the performance of Solar PV system. Dual. axis mechanical sun tracking based on astronomical method has been discussed and hardware implementation of the same has been done for latitude and longitude of Roorkee, India in order to track the sun from 6 am to 6 pm. The field experiment has also been performed which results in a more than 30. % enhanced insolation. A modified output sensing MPPT algorithm has been proposed and simulated using Maltab under different conditions. For analyzing combined effect of mechanical tracking and MPPT, the data of field experiment of mechanical tracking has been used. Further, an attempt has also been made to carry out the life cycle cost analysis for the proposed combined tracking system. The technology proposed has been found to be cost-effective in. order to improve the efficiency of a PV system by incorporating smart power electronics. The study carried out under the present work may help in finding a better solution to increase efficiency of overall system.