MPPT

The Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPT) are the abdomens of the SolarBoat (BoII) that gives the battery juice from the solar panels.

The MPPTs are self made, where the hardware can be found on the altium365 workspace and the software on Git.

What is a MPPT?

A MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker) is a device that ensures that a solar panel is used at the most efficient point of its I-V curve. The I-V curve of a solar panel can be redrawn into an P-V curve by summing the voltage and current, resulting in the voltage at which the panel generates the most power. Because the output of the MPPT is connected to a battery (which is a very constant voltage source) any adjustments in the dutycycle of the MPPT influence the voltage over the solar panel, making it possible to steer the panel towards its maximum power point.

PCBs

Deck layout with corresponding MPPTs ID per panel.

There are probably 8 MPPT PCBs in total. Where 4 are used in the current SolarBoat. The picture on the right shows the layout of the solar panels with the corresponding MPPTs.