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Design of a peripheral interface controller based MPPT charge controller

Conference Paper · December 2016

DOI: 10.1109/ICECTE.2016.7879638

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 2nd International Conference on Electrical, Computer & Telecommunication Engineering (ICECTE)
8-10 December 2016, Rajshahi-6204, Bangladesh

Design of a Peripheral Interface Controller Based

MPPT Charge Controller
Md Rokonuzzaman* and Md Hossam-E-Haider
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering (EECE)
Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka-1216
*[email protected] and [email protected]

Abstract— This paper presents a smart charge controller II. DESIGNED SYSTEM
(SCC) that can extract maximum power from solar panel and
could make instant decision to protect the system. In the same In this system, for charge control and data acquisition
time the designed controller can control high voltage disconnect operation PlC16F877A microcontroller is used. PlC16F877A
(HVD)-reconnect, and low voltage disconnect (LVD)-reconnect. contains five input/output (I/O) ports. Five ports are denoted by
An improved maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is A to E. Port A is used to perform the analog to digital
achieved through a Peripheral interface controller (PIC) based conversion which is used in input parts like temperature
Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm. Additionally, light sensing circuit, battery voltage sensing circuit and current
emitting diode (LED) used as indicator and a display is featured sensing circuit. Port B is used to interface with the Liquid
to show the system status. A blue-tooth device is used to work it crystal display (LCD) module whereas port C controls
as a data logger to monitor system status by smart phone or
disconnect or reconnect operations for photovoltaic panel or
Laptop. Furthermore, this SCC is developed to increase the
efficiency with low cost. Experimented highest efficiency 99% is load. Port D is used as input part for switching control and as
recorded within the cost of BDT 2050 taka only. output part for LED indicator. ACS712-20A current sensor is
used to sense the current and a voltage divider circuit is used
Keywords- smart charge controller (SCC), P & O algorithm, to sense the voltage. Current, voltage and temperature sensing
MPPT technique, PIC microcontroller . unit is operated as input parts. PIC microcontroller analyzed
inputted data from sensing unit and will exploit the system
I. INTRODUCTION according to the program installed inside its memory. ‘Micro
A photo-voltaic (PV) array under uniform irradiance C’ software is used to execute the installed programming
exhibits a current-voltage characteristic with a unique code. Output part consists: battery and load, LCD module and
maximum power point (MPP) which depends on array an indicator circuit. Circuit power at 5V is derived from a
temperature and solar insulation irradiance [1]. So, to harness 78L05 voltage regulator connected to the battery. An LM35
maximize energy from solar panel, it is essential to constantly temperature sensor sensed the ambient temperature. Two
track the MPP of the solar array. Last few years, research has power IRFZ44N MOSFETs are used as solid-state switch for
concentrated on various MPP control algorithms to draw the the panel-battery line and battery-load line. Three different
maximum power of the solar array. Among them, perturb and LEDs of color green, blue and red are used to indicate the
observe (P&O) [2], incremental conductance (INC) [3], system status. Table I. shows the special feature that is the
constant voltage (CV) [4], short current pulse [5], fuzzy logic reason to use PlC16F877A. Electrical specification of SM-
control (FLC) [6], artificial neural network (ANN) [7] and 85KSM solar panel that is used for field test is mentioned in
some other techniques [8] have drawn attention due to the Table II. The developed specification against the older version
usefulness of each system. Due to low state of charge (SOC) of charge controller and specific uses of the proposed features
of battery and solar panel are in cool, MPPT devices have are depicted in Table III.
greater benefits. For example, with typical PV module
TABLE I. FEATURES OF PlC16F877A
maximum power point around 17 V and low state-of-charge
battery voltage at around 12 V, the potential power gain from Pin Program Data EEPROM I/O CCP
MPPT was stated to be about 30% [1]. Whereas energy gains Memory (SRAM) (Bytes) (PWM)
with hot PV modules and fully charged batteries are minimal 40 14.3K 368 258 33 2
or negative. Studies show that the life time of the battery is
TABLE II. ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATION OF SM-85KSM PANEL
degraded without using charge controller. Therefore, an
intelligent charge controller should be designed to prolong the Name Rating
battery's life time and stabilize the voltage from photovoltaic Maximum power 85W
panel [9]. In this paper a charge controller is designed and Maximum voltage 17.35V
developed at low cost based on PlC16F877A microcontroller Maximum current 5.20A
Open circuit voltage, ୭ୡ 19.7V
as a control unit, ensuring higher efficiency on maximum
Short circuit current, ୱୡ 5.90A
power extracting and smart facilities like data logging, Operating temperature -40 ι‫ ܥ‬to +85 ι‫ܥ‬
electronic device charging unit and remote monitoring system.

978-1-5090-5785-6/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE

 2nd International Conference on Electrical, Computer & Telecommunication Engineering (ICECTE)
8-10 December 2016, Rajshahi-6204, Bangladesh

TABLE III. FEATURES OF THE DESIGNED CHARGE CONTROLLER A buck converter circuit is used to convert panel voltage to
Feature Model/Rating Specification load voltage. Since the panel voltage is always higher than the
Solar Panel 85W Input source load voltage at day time. The simulated circuit diagram of a
Battery 12V-100Ah Storage, Load buck converter is shown in Fig. 2. Simulation has been
Microcontroller PlC16F877A Control unit
Current sensor ACS712–20A Protect over current flow
executed by LTspice IV software. IRFZ44N MOSFET, an
Buck converter Self designed inductor and a capacitor with a load is used. When the
Charging --- MPPT MOSFET is ON, current will flow the inductor, load and
MOSFET driver IR2104 Provides proper output capacitor. Since the diode is reversed biased thus no
switching
Blue-tooth device ESP8266 Data logging
current will flow through the diode. In this state magnetic
USB connector USB 2 (480 Mbit/s) External device charging energy will store in the inductor and electrical energy in the
Display DIS-00014 (20 × 4) System status capacitor. When, this MOSFET is off stored energy in the
inductor released and current complete its path through the
diode and in the same time stored energy of capacitor will
supply to the load and will control the current flow. LCD
display with 20×4 is used to continuous monitor the panel and
battery voltage, load condition with pulse width modulation
(PWM). Finally a Bluetooth module is used to get all data from
system to a smart phone or laptop.
a. Inductor Selection for Buck Converter
To design the buck converter some parameters are lifted from
data sheet to calculate the inductance.
Input voltage, ୧୬ ൌ ͳͻǤ͹
Output voltage, ୭୳୲ ൌ ͳʹ
୔ୟ୬ୣ୪୮୭୵ୣ୰ ଼ହ୛
Fig. 1. Block diagram of the proposed solar charge controller Output current, ୭୳୲ ൌ ሻ
ൌ  ൌ ͹ǤͲͺ
୓୳୲୮୳୲୴୭୪୲ୟ୥ୣሺ୚౥౫౪ ଵଶ୚
A. Component Selection Switching frequency, ୱ ൌ ͷͲ œ
Fig. 1 shows block diagram of the designed charge Duty Cycle, ‫ ܦ‬ൌ
௏೚ೠ೟
ൌ
ଵଶ௏
ൌ ͲǤ͸ͺ‫ݎ݋‬͸ͺΨ
controller. Three part of the charge controller are source, ௏೔೙ ൈఎ ଵଽǤ଻௏ൈǤଽ
control and storage unit. 85W solar panel as source and 12V- Where, Ʉ ൌ ‡ˆˆ‹ ‹‡ ›‘ˆ–Š‡ ‘˜‡”–‡”ǡ ‡•–‹ƒ–‡†ͻͲΨ [10].
100Ah lead acid type rechargeable battery is used as storage ͳ ͳ
unit. Loads are connected through storage unit but due to full ‘™ǡ †— –‘”ǡ  ൌ ሺ୧୬ െ ୭୳୲ ሻ ൈ  ൈ ൈ  ሺͳሻ
ୱ ο୐
charge at available sun light panel is directly connected to the Where, ο ୐ ൌ †— –‘””‹’’Ž‡ —””‡–
load. Panel voltage is fed to the voltage and current sensor, A good estimation for the inductor ripple current is 20% to
parallel to the buck converter circuit. At first the voltage 40% of the output current [10].
converts analog to digital output for the control unit Let,
PlC16F877A. This controller controls both the source and load
ο ୐ ൌ ͶͲΨ‘ˆ–Š‡”ƒ–‡† —””‡–
portion. Voltage divider circuit used as a voltage sensor which
will sense the voltage and output is given to the ൌ ͶͲΨ‘ˆ͹ǤͲͺ
microcontroller. ACS712-20A current sensor is able to sense ൌ ʹǤͺ͵
maximum 20A current. Buck converter is designed for this Now, from equation (1),
proposed charge controller and it can minimize the panel ͳ ͳ
 ൌ ሺ୧୬ െ ୭୳୲ ሻ ൈ  ൈ ൈ 
voltage to the charging voltage level of the battery. Bluetooth ୱ ο ୐
module ESP8266 is used for data logging. An external device ଵ ଵ
ൌ ሺͳͻǤ͹ െ ͳʹሻ ൈ ͲǤ͸ͳ ൈ ൈ
charging unit is connected from the battery to charge different ହ଴ǡ଴଴଴ ଶǤ଼ଷ
electronic device like mobile phone, laptop etc. ൌ ͲǤͲ͵͵
ൌ ͵͵ǤʹɊ
If ‫ܫ‬௅ ൌ ܽ‫ݐ݊݁ݎݎݑܿݎ݋ݐܿݑ݀݊݅݁݃ܽݎ݁ݒ‬, then the inductor ripple
current ο‫ܫ‬௅ ൌ ʹ‫ܫ‬௅ [11].
ο୍ ଶǤ଼ଷ
Inductor peak current ൌ ୭୳୲ ൅ ై ൌ ͹ǤͲͺ ൅ ൌ ͺǤͷ
ଶ ଶ

b. Capacitor Selection for Buck Converter

The output of buck converter has small amount of ripple
voltages. Capacitor or the filter circuit is used to minimize the
voltage overshoot and ripple.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of a Buck converter
Output Capacitance,
 2nd International Conference on Electrical, Computer & Telecommunication Engineering (ICECTE)
8-10 December 2016, Rajshahi-6204, Bangladesh
οூಽ
‫ܥ‬௢௨௧ ൌ (2)
଼ൈிೞ ൈο௏೚ೠ೟
Whereǡ †— –‘””‹’’Ž‡ —””‡–ǡ ο ୐ ൌ ʹǤͺ͵
Switching frequency, ୱ ൌ ͷͲ œ
Let,
—–’—–˜‘Ž–ƒ‰‡”‹’’Ž‡ǡ οܸ௢௨௧ ൌ ʹͲܸ݉
Now, from equation (2),
ο‫ܫ‬௅
‫ܥ‬௢௨௧  ൌ
ͺ ൈ ‫ܨ‬௦ ൈ  οܸ௢௨௧
ଶǤ଼ଷ
ൌ
଼ൈହ଴଴଴଴ൈ଴Ǥ଴ଶ
ൌ ͵ͷ͵Ǥ͹ͷߤ‫ܨ‬
By taking some margin, Ͷ͹Ͳߤ‫ ܨ‬electrolytic capacitor are Fig. 4. Field testing setup bench
used.
Three columns of data can visualize on display. First column
c. MOSFET selection for buck converter shows the solar panel voltage, current and power condition.
IRFZ44N MOSFET is used for better switching. Since it has Second column shows the battery voltage, current and
very low amount of voltage drop it increases the total charging state condition. Third column shows pulse width
efficiency of the system. Voltage rating of this solid state status with load on or off condition. The same status is directly
device is greater than 20% of rated voltage. Current rating is transferable to a handset or laptop through the Bluetooth
greater than 20% of rated current. It has minimum conduction device. This will be helpful to maintain or observe the system
loss. IR2104 MOSFET driver is used that accept low power from customer end.
input from the microcontroller and produces a high current A. Testing Results
drive input for the gate of the MOSFETs. Fig. 3 shows the Table IV. Showing the experimental data of designed solar
input voltage of MOSFETs and charging state of the battery. charge controller. Data of the panel and battery voltage,
Red colored square pulse from the panel is almost 17 volt and current, and power are taken respectively and values are
the green colored curve is the charging state that is 12 volt. recorded from 8.55AM to 5.00PM. From this tested value the
Theoretically, 68% duty cycle is enough to fulfill system overall efficiency of the charge controller is determined. Fig. 5
requirement. Here, more than 68% duty cycle is used to justify shows the efficiency recorded from the designed charge
the losses and to increase the efficiency of the system. controller. In the beginning of the day at 8.55 AM panel power
III. HARDWARE DESIGN was 22.75W, battery power was 22.18W and charge controller
efficiency was 97.47%. At the end of the day, at 5.00PM panel
Fig. 4 shows field testing setup bench of the designed charge and battery power is recorded 6.25W and 6.02W respectively,
controller. System consist a 12 volt lead acid battery, four and the efficiency measured 96.24%. Experiment shows that
analog volts and ammeter meter, one digital multimeter, one the efficiency level is almost over than 95%. It is also evident
digital oscilloscope, a display, external device universal serial that due to low sunlight does not affect the efficiency of the
bus (USB) charging unit. Oscilloscopes are displaying the CC and it works properly. Additionally, reverse power
wave shape of duty cycle and charging state of the battery. protection also works good due to night or less sunlight. In the
Multimeter displayed the converted boost voltage of solar same time, excessive current flow due to over load system is
panel. protects perfectly, due to low voltage control unit disconnect
the load side as well as protect due to over voltage.

Fig. 5. Efficiency of the charge controller

Fig. 3. Input voltage of MOSFET and charging state of battery
 2nd International Conference on Electrical, Computer & Telecommunication Engineering (ICECTE)
8-10 December 2016, Rajshahi-6204, Bangladesh

TABLE IV.
EXPERIMENTAL DATA WITH EFFICIENCY OF THE DESIGNED CHARGE CONTROLLER

Sr. No Time Panel Load Efficiency (%)

Voltage (V) Current (A) Power (W) Voltage (V) Current (A) Power (W)
1 08.55AM 14.4 1.58 22.75 12.6 1.76 22.18 97.47
2 09.25AM 13.9 2.89 40.17 13.4 2.83 37.92 94.40
3 09.55AM 14.2 1.99 28.26 13.0 1.74 22.62 80.05
4 10.25AM 13.6 1.89 25.70 13.3 1.92 25.54 99.35
5 10.55AM 14.0 2.45 34.30 13.6 2.51 34.14 99.52
6 11.25AM 14.1 2.58 36.39 13.9 2.61 36.27 99.73
7 11.55AM 14.2 0.26 03.69 12.2 0.25 03.05 82.61
8 12.25PM 14.2 2.78 39.48 13.9 2.82 39.19 99.30
9 12.55PM 13.8 1.92 26.49 13.5 1.95 26.33 99.35
10 01.22PM 14.0 2.59 36.26 14.1 2.53 35.68 98.38
11 01.52PM 14.3 1.77 25.31 13.5 1.87 25.25 99.74
12 02.10PM 13.9 0.47 06.53 12.8 0.47 06.02 92.09
13 02.30PM 14.0 1.79 25.06 13.5 1.80 24.30 96.97
14 02.55PM 14.5 2.64 38.28 14.1 2.68 37.78 98.71
15 03.25PM 13.4 0.51 06.83 12.9 0.52 06.71 98.16
16 04.00PM 13.4 0.47 06.29 12.9 0.47 06.06 96.27
17 04.25PM 13.3 0.45 05.98 12.9 0.46 05.93 99.15
18 04.55PM 13.3 0.55 07.32 12.9 0.55 07.09 96.99
19 05.00PM 13.3 0.47 06.25 12.8 0.47 06.02 96.24
Average 96.03

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