If the solar energy system provides power to a load, the system often operates away from the maximum power point of the solar array. Fig. 4 shows the I-V characteristics of the solar array and the load, together with constant power curves (P = VZ = consr ) . It is seen that the delivered output power, which is represented by the operating point 1, is significantly smaller than the maximum output power, which is represented by point 2. In order to ensure a maximum power transfer, DC/DC converters are useed to adjust the voltage at the load to the value of V, = m, where R is the equivalent resistance of the load.