Application

A low-cost photovoltaic emulator for static and dynamic evaluation of photovoltaic power converters and facilities

  1. Raúl González-Medina*,
  2. Iván Patrao,
  3. Gabriel Garcerá,
  4. Emilio Figueres

Article first published online: 25 JUN 2012

DOI: 10.1002/pip.2243

Issue

Cover image for Vol. 21 Issue 4

Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Early View (Online Version of Record published before inclusion in an issue)

Additional Information

How to Cite

González-Medina, R., Patrao, I., Garcerá, G. and Figueres, E. (2012), A low-cost photovoltaic emulator for static and dynamic evaluation of photovoltaic power converters and facilities. Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl.. doi: 10.1002/pip.2243

Author Information

  1. Grupo de Sistemas Electrónicos Industriales del Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Valencia, Spain

*Raúl González-Medina, Grupo de Sistemas Electrónicos Industriales del Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
E-mail: raugonme@upvnet.upv.es

Publication History

  1. Article first published online: 25 JUN 2012
  2. Manuscript Accepted: 23 APR 2012
  3. Manuscript Revised: 30 MAR 2012
  4. Manuscript Received: 20 JAN 2012

Funded by

  • Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Grant Number: ENE2009-13998-C02-02

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Keywords:

  • photovoltaic emulator;
  • photovoltaic simulator;
  • MPPT testing;
  • photovoltaic inverter

ABSTRACT

In testing maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms running on electronic power converters for photovoltaic (PV) applications, either a PV energy source (PV module or PV array) or a PV emulator is required. With a PV emulator, it is possible to control the testing conditions with accuracy so that it is the preferred option. The PV source is modeled as a current source; thus, the emulator has to work as a current source dependent on its output voltage. The proposed emulator is a buck converter with an average current mode control loop, which allows testing the static and dynamic performance of PV facilities up to 3 kW. To validate the concept, the emulator is used to evaluate the MPPT algorithm of a 230-W experimental microinverter working from a single PV module. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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