Abstract

There are numerous maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms for improving the energy efficiency of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The main differences between those algorithms are digital or analog implementation, simplicity of the design, sensor requirements, convergence speed, range of effectiveness, as well as hardware costs. Therefore, choosing the right algorithm is very important to the users, because it affects the electrical efficiency of the PV system and reduces the costs by decreasing the number of solar panels needed to get the desired power. This paper provides a comparison of 32 different techniques used in tracking the maximum power based on a literature survey. This paper is intended to be a reference for PV systems users.