The MPPT is designed to continually track and adjust the voltage to generate the most power no matter what time of day or weather conditions. In order to generate the most power, the maximum power point tracker sweeps through the panel voltage to find the ‘sweet spot’ or the best combination of voltage and current to produce the maximum power. The functioning principle of an MPPT solar charge controller is rather simple - due to the varying degree of sunlight (irradiance) landing on a solar panel throughout the day, the panel voltage and current continuously changes. The first MPPT was invented by a small Australian company called AERL way back in 1985, and this technology is now used in virtually all grid-connect solar inverters and many solar charge controllers. What is an MPPT or maximum power point tracker?Īn MPPT is basically an efficient DC to DC converter used to maximise the power output of a solar panel. Note, if more than one panel is used, they should be connected in parallel, not series. PWM solar charge controllers are a great low-cost option for small 12V systems when one or two solar panels are used, such as simple applications like solar lighting, camping and basic things like USB/phone chargers.
This in turn pulls the panel voltage away from its optimum operating voltage (Vmp) and reduces the panel power output and operating efficiency. This works ok, but the problem is the solar panel voltage is pulled down to match the battery voltage. Then the switch starts to open and close rapidly (hundreds of time per second) to modulate the current and maintain a constant battery voltage. The switch (transistor) is open until the battery reaches the absorption charge voltage. Simple PWM, or ‘ pulse width modulation’ solar charge controllers have a direct connection from the solar array to the battery and use a basic ‘rapid switch’ to modulate or control the battery charging.
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