ISSN : 2693 6356 

2023 | Vol 6 | Issue 4 

 

 

Global Maximum Power Point Tracking Using the Hill Climbing Approach: An 

Analysis of Its Performance for Photovoltaic Arrays under Partial Shading 
S.YASODA KRISHNA

1
  M.SREENU

2
 

1,2
Assistant professor,  

 Anurag Engineering College, Kodad, Telangana, India. 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT: Under partial shading circumstances (PSCs), when not all of the modules are 

receiving the same amount of solar irradiation, the power-voltage characteristic of PV arrays 

exhibits many local maximum power points. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques 

have been shown successful under settings of constant sun irradiation. However, they may not 

capture the worldwide maximum under PSCs. A novel approach to maximum power point 

tracking (MPPT) of PV arrays is proposed in this research. The suggested approach finds all 

local maximum power locations by studying the sun irradiance pattern using the well-known Hill 

Climbing technique. Simulations in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment are used to test the 

efficacy of the suggested technique. 

Keywords: maximum power point tracking (MPPT), photovoltaics (PV), hill climbing, partial 

shade conditions (PSCs). 

 

 

 

 

I. INTRODUCTION 

II. In order to lessen our reliance on 

traditional energy sources, solar 

power, which is both renewable and 

free, has become more significant in 

recent years. Photovoltaic (PV) 

systems convert the limitless solar 

energy into electricity in a 

straightforward process. However, the 

main difficulties in using PV arrays 

are their high price, low conversion 

efficiency of electric power 

generation, dependence on 

environmental conditions (such as 

solar irradiance and temperature), and 

the nonlinearity of the power-voltage 

(P-V) and current-voltage (I-V) 

characteristic. 

III. Monitoring the global peak (GP) 

of a PV array under all environmental 

circumstances is crucial for ensuring 

the highest possible output. In order to 

find the maximum power point, many 

MPPT techniques have been 

developed [1–3]. When the solar 

irradiation situation is consistent 

across all PV modules, popular MPPT 

approaches including the perturbation 

and observation (P&O), hill climbing 

(HC), and incremental conductance 

(IC) methods have shown to be 

efficient. These simple approaches fail 

to follow the GP because of the 



 

 

complexity introduced by partial 

shading conditions (PSCs), in which 

not all modules get the same amount 

of sunlight. Although there is just one 

peak in the P-V characteristic of a PV 

array when operating under uniform 

solar irradiation, with PSCs, there are 

several peaks. Therefore, many MPPT 

strategies are given that may be used 

in PSCs. You may classify these 

techniques as either hardware-based or 

software-based [4]. 

IV. Each module has its own controller 

according to [5] and [6]. Since the P-

V characteristic of a module (with a 

single bypass diode) always has a 

single peak, these hardware-based 

approaches may fix the issue. 

However, in compared to software-

based techniques, these approaches 

are quite expensive and need a large 

number of additional equipment. 

V. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) 

is the basis for the maximum power 

point tracking (MPPT) approach 

introduced by Ishaque et al. [7]. 

Because of the need for human input, 

this approach is too complicated to be 

used with mass-produced machines. 

Artificial neural networks (ANN) are 

used as the chosen algorithm in [8]. 

One major drawback of ANN-based 

approaches is that the quality of the 

training data greatly affects the ANN's 

performance in diverse environments. 

When the PV array is updated, they 

also need to be retrained. Applications 

of genetic algorithms, fireflies, and 

simulated annealing are described in 

[9] through [12] for PV systems. 

These techniques have high 

performances, but their 

implementation complexity is their 

biggest drawback, since it involves 

complicated calculations and various 

parameters have to be adjusted by 

user, much as the PSO and ANN 

methods. 

VI. The HC strategy has been refined 

in [4]. It is sensitive enough to detect 

the presence of shadows. Then, the 

HC is conducted centered on the 

location with the greatest power 

reading. Since it only considers the 

strength of points in close proximity 

to the LPs, its precision is inadequate 

for GP monitoring. 

VII. opposed to the LPs in question. In 

[13], a novel P&O technique is 

presented that takes use of a special 

feature of the P-V curves. Great 

performance is achieved, however 

tracking speed is slow due to 

practically two measurements being 

taken for each LP. The GP is said to 

be around the point where the I-V 

characteristic of PV arrays and 

another line cross in [14]. The array's 

short circuit current is a limiting factor 

[1]. Changing this to account for sun 

irradiance will very certainly fix the 

issue. However, sun irradiance sensors 

are somewhat hard to come by [1]. In 

order to follow the P-V curve and 

determine the GP, a relationship is 

established between the PV power and 

a control signal in [15]. It's quite 

precise, but time-consuming to use 

since it examines a large portion of the 

P-V curve. In [16], a strategy is given 

that makes advantage of the key 

insights detailed in 

VIII. [13] in a new manner, but it lacks a 

method for determining whether an 

LP is present in the area around the 



 

 

target. Therefore, it may not work in 

all PSCs. Furthermore, the technique 

in [16] is not as straightforward as 

other comparable approaches for 

experimental implementation since it 

requires sophisticated calculations 

(such as the computation of square 

root) in comparison to other similar 

methods. By setting minimum and 

maximum voltage thresholds, [17] is 

able to rapidly follow the GP. 

However, when the power of two LPs 

is very close to being the same, the 

approach may fail, as acknowledged 

by the authors. 

IX. Based on the voltage of the 

modules, the approach provided in 

[18] plots out the solar irradiance 

pattern and selects a suitable voltage 

to center the GP's tracking around. 

X. it. Using a single voltage sensor 

for every module is both impractical 

and expensive. Two approaches are 

presented in [19]. The first one uses 

IC to scan the P-V curve for MPPs. 

However, it does not cover the whole 

region because of the maximum local 

power and the short circuit current of 

the modules. Scanning almost the 

whole P-V curve would make this 

approach painfully slow. The second 

technique is more efficient at tracking, 

but it is still inefficient since it 

requires one current sensor for each 

bypass diode. 

XI. In [20], a solution is suggested that 

uses a ramp voltage instruction on the 

converter. As a result, the system's 

voltage and current won't fluctuate 

during brief periods of instability. As 

a result, the traditionally large delays 

required for accurate voltage and 

current sampling are no longer 

necessary. However, its tracking speed 

is subpar since it examines almost the 

whole P-V curve. It is still very 

crucial to provide a technique that is 

accurate, has fast convergence, is 

simple, has few parameters, is 

inexpensive, and fulfills other critical 

criteria [1]. In this research, we 

suggest a new approach to maximum 

power point tracking (MPPT) of PV 

arrays that is both efficient in PSCs 

and very successful in the other areas 

we've highlighted. The approach plots 

the distribution of solar radiation by 

measuring PV current at specific 

locations. It selects points for LP 

tracking based on the mapping. After 

that, it keeps tabs on all the LPs while 

performing HC at these nodes. At last, 

it selects the GP based on how similar 

it is to the obtained LPs. 

XII. SOLAR PV ARRAY UNDER 

PARTIAL SHADING 

CONDITION: When we look at the 

features of a PV system, we see that 

partial shading is one of the main reasons 

why power is lost. Multiple maxima 

appear in the SPV system's non-linear 

Power-Voltage characteristics when it is 

partially shaded. 

A. Solar Pv Array Uniqueness and Its 

Non-Linearity Under Psc: Multiple 

PV modules are used to create an array, 

which is then linked in series and 

parallel to get the desired voltage and 

current. To protect PV modules from 

the hot-spot issue, bypass diodes are 

connected in parallel with each module. 

To shield the PV modules from the 

influence of potential difference 

between series connected strings, a 



 

 

blocking diode is connected in series 

with each string, which is a group of 

PV modules in series connection. There 

is only one maximum power point 

(MPP) on the P-V characteristic curve 

of a PV array when the sun irradiation 

on each panel is the same. On the other 

hand, in partly darkened conditions, 

there might be several local maximum 

power locations (many local maxima) 

due to the diodes that both bypass and 

block the light.

 

XIII. SYSTEM CONFIGARATION: 
 

Maximum power point tracking is an essential 

part of a photovoltaic system. Photovoltaic 

systems have a distinct operating point that 

provides maximum power. An MPPT actively 

seeks this operating point. Maximum Power 

Point Tracking, normally known as MPPT, is 

an electronic arrangement that find the voltage 

(VMPP) or current (IMPP) routinely at which 

PV modules should operate to achieve the 

maximum power output (PMPP) under rapidly-

changing environmental conditions. The 

penetration of PV systems as distributed 

power generation systems has been increased 

dramatically in the last years. In parallel with 

this, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) 

is becoming more and more important as the 

amount of energy produced by PV systems is 

increasing. Since the MPP depends on solar 

irradiation and cell temperature, it is never 

constant over time and hence Maximum Power 

Point Tracking (MPPT) technique should be 

used to track the maximum power point. 

Normally, PV module efforts well at cold 

temperatures and MPPT are operated to extract 

maximum power presented from them. When 

battery is totally discharged: MPPT can extract 

more current and charge the battery if the state 

of charge in the battery is lowers. 

 
 

Fig 2.Schematic of the System 

 
XIV. CONVENTIONAL METHODS: 

 
Figure 5 shows the cause that the 

tracking disappointment of conventional 

MPPTs under PSC. The operating point 

of PV array is on the “point A” before 

PSC is occurred. After PSC is occurred, 

the operating point is moved to “point 

B”. In this case, the real MPP is to be 

found on “point C”. Nevertheless, 

because of the conventional methods 

changes the operating point due to 

predetermined voltage reference step 

(△V), the operating point is oscillated 

on vicinity of “point B”. At the same 

time, the difference in power capacity 

between PC and PB is lost due to this 

MPPT failure. To prevent this power 

loss, MPPT methods have to move the 

operating point to “point C”. 
 

Fig 3. PV characteristics showing MPP and 

operating points A and B 



 

 

 

 
Fig. 4 MPPT Failure in conventional 

method under PSC 

XV. PROPOSED METHOD: Usual 

MPPTs 

monitoring GMPP has been fraught with 

failure. In tandem with ADCs and the 

multifunctional microprocessor, certain 

improved MPP algorithms are being 

developed. This paper presents a 

technique that identifies the GMPP 

while minimizing the necessary 

hardware. We've used both a local 

dithering method and a global search 

strategy to locate the GMPP. When a 

global MPP occurs between two local 

MPPs, as seen in fig., none of the 

existing global MPPT approaches 

reaches the global MPP. As a result, the 

intended algorithm has been tailored to 

follow MPP on a worldwide scale. Any 

operation involving less than two 

phases. (i) A worldwide search with a 

significant step size (d) (ii) Searching 

locally with a small step size, d, in the 

global MPP area The hill climbing 

technique is the foundation of the 

proposed MPPT algorithm. To ensure 

that no maximum power point is missed, 

the updated hill-climbing algorithm 

traverses the full P-V curve with a large 

step size in duty cycle, d, in the search 

space defined by the Dstart and Dend. 

There will be a maximum power point in 

the area corresponding to the duty cycles 

D(k-1) and D(k) if and only if the sign 

of the power differential, P(k)=P(k) - 

P(k-1), changes from positive to 

negative at any time during the search 

begun at Dstart. Thus, the comparable 

duty cycle D(k-1) and equivalent power 

P(k-1) are recorded to indicate the initial 

state of the area. The procedure repeats 

itself until the duty cycle, D, is equal to 

the density, Dend. After the global 

search is complete, the global MPP is 

identified from the stored values of all 

the maximum power points simply by 

comparing the powers P of each duty 

cycle, D. This is possible because the 

step size d used for the global search is 

adequately great sufficient, reducing the 

time required to finish the entire global 

search. Although the global maximum 

power point (MPP) determined by the 

global search is close to the real MPP, it 

will not transmit the actual maximum 

power available under the given 

meteorological circumstances. To get 

there, we're beginning a local search 

with a duty cycle of D(k-1) and taking 

very tiny steps in duty cycle (d). When 

we get there, we'll experience a two-step 

oscillation close to the global MPP. The 

efficiency of the PV system is improved 

because to the small step size d, which 

decreases the amplitude of oscillation 

around the global MPP. This method 

states that worldwide searching is 

repeated every five minutes as weather 

conditions may have changed. 



 

 

 

 
Fig.5 Proposed Algorithm 

VI SIMULATION RESULTS: 

Fig. 6. Corresponding (a) I-V and (b) P-V 

characteristics under first simulation. 

 

(a) 
 

(b) 
 

(c) 
 

 

(d) 

Fig. 7. Corresponding array’s (a) voltage, 

(b) current, (c) power, and (d) duty cycle 

waveforms in the first simulation. 
 

 
(a) 
 

(b) 
 

(c) 

Fig. 8. Zoomed view of per unit array’s 

voltage, current, power, and duty cycle 

waveforms in the first simulation during 

(a) 0.3–0.5 s,(b) 0.6–0.8 s, and (c) 

0.9–1.1 s 

intervals. Power should be multiply to35 

× 6, voltage should be multiplied to 3 × 

11.15 and current should be multiplied 

to 2 × 4.15. 

 



 

 

(a) 
 

 

(b) 
 

(c) 

Fig. 9. Corresponding (a) PSC pattern and 

(b) P-V characteristics under second 

simulation. 

 
 

Fig. 10. Proposed method 

CONCLUSION: In this study, we present a 

new MPPT technique that performs very well 

in PSC. The simulation results demonstrated 

that the current is essentially constant from the 

end of one step of the I-V characteristic to the 

start of the next. It was further shown that the 

sites of origin for each segment of the I-V 

curve are located close to the left-hand 

multiples of Voc,m. In reality, the suggested 

approach is a tweaked version of HC that 

successfully follows the GP in a variety of 

settings. So, it's easy to put this technique into 

practice. Once PSCs are present, their stepped 

I-V characteristics may be identified by 

counting the number and duration of the 

current's steps as multiples of Voc, m. The HC 

technique then follows all LPs around certain 

multiples of 0.8 Voc, m. In the end, the GP is 

identified using LP comparison. The benefits 

of this strategy over two well-known current 

methods have been verified by simulation 

results. 

 

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