Kunatsa, TawandaMyburgh, Hermanus CarelDe Freitas, Allan2025-02-052025-02-052024-12Kunatsa, T.; Myburgh, H.C.; De Freitas, A. Efficient Charging Prioritisation and Optimisation of Solar PV-Powered Portable Electronic Devices. Energies 2024, 17, 6039. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17236039.1996-1073 (online)10.3390/en17236039http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100553DATA AVAILABITY STATEMENT: Publicly available meteorological datasets from the Southern African Universities Radiometric Network (SAURAN) were used in this study. These data can be found here: https://sauran.ac.za/ (accessed on 4 March 2024).This article forms part of a special issue titled 'Advances in Renewable Energy Power Forecasting and Integration'.Efficiently managing and prioritising the charging of portable electronic devices powered by solar photovoltaic sources in off-grid and resource-limited environments is a huge problem. Ensuring that critical devices maintain operational uptime, especially when energy resources are scarce and in instances where multiple devices compete for charging from the limited solar power available is crucial. This paper introduces an optimisation framework designed to prioritise the charging of portable electronic devices powered by solar photovoltaic sources. The approach aims to maximise operational uptime for critical loads before addressing less essential ones. By strategically allocating charging priorities based on comprehensive evaluations of battery capacities, usage patterns, and operational requirements, the optimisation process seeks to enhance overall efficiency and readiness of portable electronic devices in dynamic, austere and resource-constrained settings. The charging prioritisation problem was solved using MATLAB’s (version number 9.13.0.2193358 (R2022b)) OPTI toolbox in conjuction with the SCIP solver. A case study, involving three portable electronic devices—a cellphone, GPS and radio, demonstrated the model’s effectiveness in maximising satisfaction by aggregating device priorities over time. The model prioritised charging of the GPS due to its critical operational role, followed by the radio for its essential communication function, while the cellphone, with lower usage demands, was assigned the lowest priority. The model developed in this study is versatile and applicable to diverse demand profiles and any number of portable electronic devices. Furthermore, it can be customised to operate effectively in various geographic locations, irrespective of solar radiation levels.en© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an Open Access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).OptimisationModellingCharging prioritisationSolar photovoltaicPortable electronic devicesSDG-07: Affordable and clean energySDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructureArticle