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Max Peak Power Tracker - Article

While the sun radiates up to 1000 Watts per square meter, a typical panel can convert only 30% of irradiant energy to electricity. In most street lights, the energy harvested by day has to be stored in a battery and using conventional charge controllers can lead to further conversion losses. In order to extract all the energy that a solar panel is capable of delivering, a fully electronic system called the Max Peak Power Tracker (MPPT) is required. The MPPT is a DC-to-DC converter that poses as an optimum load allowing the panel to operate at its peak power state. Since the Max Peak Power Point (MPP) is dependent on the amount of radiant sunlight and temperature of the panel, the MPPT must constantly adapt to maximize the energy conversion. In this whitepaper, to further understand the significance of the MPPT, an example of a system with and without the convertor can be examined.

• 167.80 KB
• Aug 14, 2009