Comparative Performance of P&O, Incremental Conductance and Fuzzy MPPT Techniques in Grid-Connected Five-Level Multilevel Inverters with Reduced Switching Devices

Abstract

Introduction: This paper presents a comparative performance analysis of three Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques—Perturb and Observe (P&O), Incremental Conductance (INC), and Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC)—for a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system integrated with a five-level multilevel inverter featuring reduced switching devices. The system is modeled and simulated in PSIM under variable irradiance conditions to assess the efficiency and responsiveness of each MPPT method in real-time solar environments. The five-level inverter topology is optimized to minimize the number of switching components while maintaining high-quality output, reduced total harmonic distortion (THD), and effective grid compliance. Each MPPT algorithm is implemented individually and evaluated in terms of dynamic response, convergence time, tracking accuracy, and overall power delivery performance. Simulation results show that while P&O and INC provide reliable and simple control, the fuzzy logic approach outperforms both in handling rapid irradiance fluctuations and reducing steady-state oscillations. The study provides valuable insights for selecting suitable MPPT strategies in advanced PV systems employing multilevel inverters with optimized switch count.