Abstract
With the cost of silicon and solarcells decreasing, the conversion of solar energy to electricity is increasingly becoming an economically viable alternative. However, the solar array power fluctuates considerably during each day depending on insolation level and weather conditions etc. Moreover, the current-voltage characteristic of solarcells varies due to temperature variations and secular changes etc. Hence a need is created to simply derive the maximum solar power whatever conditions are.
We here propose a novel interface circuit between commercial ac bus and solarcells using Van Allen's multivibrator. Based on the analysis of the characteristic of the multivibrator, we present a simple optimization method to change the output voltage of solarcells by small control current, adjust the quiescent point of solarcells and then follow the optimum quiescent point.
