Maximum power point in solar converters

[ocset]

In solar converters , the maximum power point is simply referring to the current drawn from a solar panel, above which there is no more delivered power from the solar panel (to the load, eg battery) if the current is increased from that level.
Do you agree?

[CopperCone]

It's a favorable impedance point. I think about it like a specific input impedance  to voltage converter.

Or maybe a better way to think about it is that you want to transform your load to mimic a specific impedance.

[ejeffrey]

Yes it is the operation point on the I/V curve that has maximum power.  If you try to draw more current the voltage drops enough to lower the power.  If you draw less current, the voltage does not increase enough and you end up with less power.

[ocset]

Thanks, in that case, what we need to be able to do, is calculate the amount of power dissipated (wasted)  in the solar panel itself by the current drawn from it.
..So, power = V*I…….

Well, we can measure the current…but how do we assess what the voltage is?....presumably the voltage is the  nominal open circuit panel voltage minus the input voltage to the switching converter that’s downstream of it. Is this correct?

What is the open circuit panel voltage when the panel is under full sunlight?
Is this figure very different from the open circuit panel voltage when the panel is in dull  daylight?

[CopperCone]

Wikipedia explains how well each tracking method works in terms of efficiency pretty good

[ocset]

Thanks,
In fact, all we would  need to do, is simply regulate the input current to the switching converter which charges the battery...and then every now and then  incrementing it , whilst monitoring the output voltage and current....as V*I at the output  starts going down, then back off the input current. Do you agree?

[CopperCone]

thats one way, wikipedia really does have several different scenarios, solutions and evaluations though.