How to test the maximum power point tracking function of the inverter MPPT

ITECH has recently launched a high-speed and high-performance photovoltaic/solar simulation power supply, which is another key product in the field of new energy testing. It can complete high-performance solar panel output simulation and provide testing for solar inverters, photovoltaic controllers and microgrid equipment.

Regardless of whether the imminent depletion of oil resources is a false proposition, the development of renewable energy and clean energy is a global consensus. China's photovoltaic industry was hit hard by the EU's anti-dumping, but it has regained its prosperity with the substantial growth of domestic photovoltaic installed capacity. By the end of 2016, the global cumulative photovoltaic installation capacity reached 305GW, and China's cumulative photovoltaic grid-connected capacity reached 77GW. China's new and cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation ranked first in the world, and China has become the largest market for the photovoltaic industry. Chinese companies such as JinkoSolar and Huawei also ranked first in the world in terms of shipments of key equipment such as photovoltaic modules and inverters.

According to China's commitment at the Paris Climate Summit, by 2030, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by 60%-65% compared with 2005, and non-fossil energy will account for about 20% of primary energy consumption. As an important non-fossil energy, photovoltaics have the following keywords on the path to achieving this overall goal: distributed, leader, and subsidy-free.

Distributed: China's solar energy resource-rich areas are mainly distributed in the north and high-altitude areas, but the demand for electricity load is more concentrated in the eastern coastal areas. Large-scale solar power stations are often built in resource-rich areas, and the problem of power consumption is serious. "Can generate but cannot deliver" has led to huge waste. The construction of distributed photovoltaics around the load, which generates electricity for self-use and connects the surplus electricity to the grid, has become a powerful way to solve the problem of consumption. First find the load that can reliably consume the photovoltaic power generation, and then build a photovoltaic power station. As a key means of targeted poverty alleviation, photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects also often use distributed systems. The scale of the photovoltaic system depends on the load demand and the available floor space. The household system is several kilowatts, and the commercial and industrial load systems are often in the scale of tens of kilowatts to several megawatts. At the same time, distributed systems are often built on roofs and other locations. The orientation and shading of photovoltaic components are complicated, so string inverter solutions are often used to achieve maximum power generation efficiency.

Leader: In order to guide the technology upgrade of the photovoltaic industry and enhance product competitiveness, a large part of China's annual photovoltaic construction scale indicators is allocated to the "Photovoltaic Leader Program". Only photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic inverters that meet the energy utilization efficiency requirements of the Leader Program can compete for the construction indicators of the program. "China Efficiency" has become the top priority for module and inverter manufacturers to make technological breakthroughs, and the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm and strategy of photovoltaic inverters are the core technologies.

Subsidy removal: The cost of photovoltaic power generation is higher than that of traditional energy. The photovoltaic subsidy policy has significantly stimulated the development of the industry, but the large subsidy gap is also an issue that cannot be ignored. In recent years, with the improvement of the efficiency of photovoltaic modules and inverters and the reduction of costs, the profitability of photovoltaic systems has continued to increase, and photovoltaic power generation parity has been put on the agenda, which has further forced the technical improvement of photovoltaic systems. When the photovoltaic power generation system itself achieves reliable profitability and shifts from pursuing scale expansion to pursuing quality and efficiency, it can truly gain market recognition and usher in the second spring of the photovoltaic industry.

In the "post-subsidy era", enterprises must rely on technological progress to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and expand the application scenarios of photovoltaic power generation. The latest high-speed, high-performance photovoltaic/solar simulation power supply launched by ITECH uses the IT6500C high-speed, high-performance, high-power DC power supply equipped with SAS1000 solar cell matrix simulation software, which can accurately simulate the IV curve of the solar cell matrix, with a voltage of up to 1000V and a power range that can be expanded from 1.8kW to 100kW, which is particularly suitable for the detection needs of string inverters and microgrid systems.

SAS1000 software can be used to simulate the IV output of solar panels under temperature and light changes within a day, as well as the output of photovoltaic arrays under shadows. It can be used to test the maximum power point tracking efficiency of photovoltaic inverters in real environments. It can also be used with photovoltaic inverters to form a photovoltaic power generation system, providing support for the research and development and testing of equipment such as smart meters, photovoltaic controllers, and microgrid control centers. It is a key test equipment for new energy power generation systems.

In the maximum power point tracking test, you can easily complete the setting of solar panel parameters such as panel material, open circuit voltage, short circuit current, maximum power point, etc., and built-in product data of various mainstream solar panel manufacturers provide convenience for solar panel characteristic simulation. Users can also directly import IV characteristic curves with up to 4096 points to perform other complex tests, expanding the system functions.

The system has built-in SAS models for EN50530/Sandia/NB/T32004/CGC/GF004/CGC/GF035. Users can simulate IV curve output to test the static & dynamic maximum power point tracking performance of photovoltaic inverters, and generate reports that comply with regulations, providing data for various tests such as European efficiency, California efficiency, and Chinese efficiency. Inverter manufacturers can use this function to easily complete standardized testing.

IT6500C has an ultra-wide voltage and current usage range, supports independent setting of edge time in various modes, and can achieve fast curve changes without overshoot with CC/CV priority selection mode. It supports multiple protection functions such as OVP, OCP, OPP, reverse connection protection, etc. In addition to solar panel simulation and maximum power tracking, it can also test the inverter MPP voltage range, starting voltage, maximum input voltage, maximum input current, and DC terminal overvoltage and overload protection functions. With the IT9100 power analyzer, the total efficiency and conversion efficiency of the inverter can be obtained.

ITECH high-speed and high-performance photovoltaic/solar simulation power supply uses high-speed and high-performance DC power supply and professional solar cell matrix simulation software to help track the maximum efficiency of photovoltaic power generation systems. It can be widely used in solar cell matrix simulation, photovoltaic inverters, micro inverters, solar controllers, microgrid systems and other testing fields.