One of the important tasks for increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) system is the development and improvement of the maximum power point tracking algorithms (MPPT). These MPPT algorithms lead to the ability to catch efficiently the global maximum power point of the partially shaded PV array. One of these trackers is the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm which is one of the Soft computing techniques. The conventional PSO based trackers have many advantages such as the simplicity of hardware implementation and independence from the installed system. The actual problem of the practical application of PSO is the determination of its parameters to ensure high effectiveness of extracting the global MPP. Analysis of scientific papers devoted to the PSO algorithm has shown that there is currently no methodology for the optimal parameters' selection of PSO algorithm based maximum power trackers for the PV system. This paper aims to create a convenient and reasonable method for choosing the optimal parameters of the PSO algorithm, taking into account the topology and parameters of the DC-DC converter and the configuration of solar panels. A new method for selecting the parameters of a buck converter connected to a battery has been presented. The optimal value of the sampling time for the digital MPP controllers, providing their maximum performance; has been determined based on a new methodology. Matlab/Simulink software package is used as the main research tool. The prominent outcomes identify that the modified PSO and its designed parameters best meet the requirements of the MPPT controller for the PV system.

Recently, building an accurate mathematical model with the help of the experimentally measured data of solar cells and Photovoltaic (PV) modules, as a tool for simulation and performance evaluation of the PV systems, has attracted the attention of many researchers. In this work, Coyote Optimization Algorithm (COA) has been applied for extracting the unknown parameters involved in various models for the solar cell and PV modules, namely single diode model, double diode model, and three diode model. The choice of COA algorithm for such an application is made because of its good tracking characteristics and the balance creation between the exploration and exploitation phases. Additionally, it has only two control parameters and such a feature makes it very simple in application. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value between the data based on the optimized parameters for each model and those based on the measured data of the solar cell and PV modules is adopted as the objective function. Parameters’ estimation for various types of PV modules (mono-crystalline, thin-film, and multi-crystalline) under different operating scenarios such as a change in intensity of solar radiation and cell temperature is studied. Furthermore, a comprehensive statistical study has been performed to validate the accurateness and stability of the applied COA as a competitor to other optimization algorithms in the optimal design of PV module parameters. Simulation results, as well as the statistical measurement, validate the superiority and the reliability of the COA algorithm not only for parameter extraction of different PV modules but also under different operating scenarios. With the COA, precise PV models have been established with acceptable RMSE of $7.7547\times 10^{-4}$ , $7.64801\times 10^{-4}$ , and $7.59756 \times 10^{-4}$ for SDM, DDM, and TDM respectively considering R.T.C. France solar cell.