Samuel Zenteno

Battery charging systems are crucial for energy storage in off-grid photovoltaic (PV) installations. Since the power generated by a PV panel is conditioned by climatic conditions and load characteristics, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique is required to maximize PV power and accelerate battery charging. On the other hand, a battery must be carefully charged, ensuring that its charging current and voltage limits are not exceeded, thereby preventing premature degradation. However, the voltage generated by the PV panel during MPPT operation fluctuates, which can harm the battery, particularly during periods of intense radiation when overvoltages are likely to occur. To address these issues, the design and construction of an enhanced solar battery charger utilizing a single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC) and soft computing (SC)-based control is presented. A control strategy is employed that integrates voltage stabilization and MPPT functions through two dedicated fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs), which manage battery charging using a three-mode scheme: MPPT, Absorption, and Float. This approach optimizes available PV power while guaranteeing fast and safe battery charging. The developed charger leverages the SEPIC’s notable features for PV applications, including a wide input voltage range, minimal input current ripple, and an easy-to-drive switch. Moreover, unlike most PV charger control strategies in the literature that combine improved traditional MPPT methods with classical proportional integral (PI)-based control loops, the proposed control adopts a fully SC-based strategy, effectively addressing common drawbacks of conventional methods, such as slowness and inaccuracy during sudden atmospheric fluctuations. Simulations in MATLAB/Simulink compared the FLCs’ performance with conventional methods (P&O, IncCond, and PID). Additionally, a low-power hardware prototype using an Arduino Due microcontroller was built to evaluate the battery charger’s behavior under real weather conditions. The simulated and experimental results both demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the solar charger.