Moving Photovoltaic Installations: Impacts of the Sampling Rate on Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms

This paper investigates the impact of the solar radiation level on the available output power of moving photovoltaic (PV) installations with the help of PV simulation models and real-world environmental data. For moving PV installations, for example, on top of hybrid electric vehicles and battery-powered electric vehicles, the sampling rate was 6000 samples per second. We analyze the changes in the amount of solar radiation that can influence on the control of the operating voltage of PVs within maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms. We present recommendations for the sampling rate of environmental data, which is used for PV simulation models. Furthermore, we discuss the update frequency of vital parameters of different MPPT techniques for controlling moving PV installations. Here, we concentrate on the degree of efficiency of the perturb and observe algorithm. In addition, we show how the sampling rate of environmental data influences the test criteria for MPPT algorithms.