SMPS Solar Power

Renewable resources, especially solar power and Photovoltaic (PV) systems, have gained great visibility during the past few years as convenient and promising renewable energy sources. Solar power systems offer several benefits, such as:

• Clean and renewable energy that replaces power produced by coal, oil and nuclear power
• Reduction/elimination of electric bills
• Ample resources since silicon for manufacturing PV panels is the second most abundant element on Earth
• The ability to provide power to remote locations

Our grid-connected solar microinverter reference design, featuring a dsPIC^® Digital Signal Controller (DSC), has a maximum power output of 215W and provides a high efficiency of ~94% at nominal conditions (230V AC). We also offer a portable solar charging reference design based on an 8-bit PIC16F microcontroller (MCU) that can charge a 24V battery system from a 130W/12V solar panel. This design can provide 1.3 kWh of energy in 10 hours of charging time.

Solar MPPT Battery Charger for the Rural Electrification System (AN2321)

This application note describes how to develop a portable solar charging system for use in a rural area.

Would you like to learn more about the advantages of switching to digital power supplies? Click on the link below to download our Features, Value and Benefits of Digital Control for Power Supplies white paper.

Legend:
IC = Input Capture, OC = Output Compare, MCCP = Multiple Capture/Compare/PWM, SCCP = Single Capture/Compare/PWM, SMPS PWM = Power Supply Pulse Width Modulation

• MCP16301 – 30V non-synchronous buck regulator
• MCP1700 - Low quiescent current LDO regulator

• MCP6022 – 10 MHz, 1 mA, low-power dual op amp

• MCP9700A – Low-power linear active thermistor IC, analog output

• MCP14E4  – 4.0A dual high-speed power MOSFET driver with enable function for each output