Power point tracking

A method of operating a local power converter comprising:

• at a local power converter, receiving voltage from a voltage generating source, the local power converter outputting to a central power converter having power point tracking functionality, determining a ratio of local converter impedance to photovoltaic panel impedance;
• using the determined ratio in a controller of the local converter as a control variable, and
• sending the determined ratio to the central power converter to maintain a constant impedance ratio and sustain an operating point at the central power converter at a constant distance from a maximum power point.

A method of operating a local power converter comprising:

• initializing a local power converter at a desired operational voltage ratio, the local power converter receiving voltage from a voltage generating source and the local power converter outputting to a central power converter having a power point tracking feature;
• observing at the local power converter perturbations caused by the central power converter and determining an AC portion of the pertubations, and associated direction and slope amount, for the central converter.