InverterACPowerSupplies

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InverterACPowerSupplies
RodElliottMarch2014

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ArticlesIndex
MainIndex
Contents
Introduction
1InverterOverview
2SquarewaveInverters
3ModifiedSquarewaveInverters
4ModifiedSinewaveInverters
5PureSinewaveInverters
6PulseWidthModulation(PWM)
6.1HighVoltagePWM
7Oscillators
8Regulation
9Transformers
Conclusion
References
Introduction
Invertersareusedinallkindsofplacesandforallkindsofreasons.Oneverycommonapplication
istoconvert12VfromacarDCoutletto230or120VACtopowersmallappliances.Theseare
verycommon,especiallywithtravellerswithmotorhomesorcaravans.Anotherisfor
'uninterruptible'backupsupplies(UPSuninterruptiblepowersupply)forcomputers,eitherinthe
homeorinlargedatacentres.Invertersarealsousedwithsolarsystemsandwindgenerators,
withsomebeingverylargeandpowerfulindeed.Thisarticleonlylooksatthetechnologies
commonlyusedforsmallandmediumpowersystemsthoseuptoafewhundredwatts,butthe
techniquesusedcanbescaledtoalmostanypowerlevel.
Thebasicrequirementsandthemostcommontypesaredescribed.Itisnotmeanttoprovidea
designprocess,buttoinformthereaderwhatthevarioustermsmean,howdifferenttypesof
inverterinteractwithcommonappliances,andhowtheywork.Therearemanyaspectsofthe
designprocessthatarefartoocomplextoattempttoexplainindetailhowever,sodon'texpectto
seeeverypossiblevariationdescribedinfull.
Pleasenotethatwaveformsandvoltagesareshownbasedon50Hzand230VRMSoutput.60Hz
120Vsystemsuseidenticaltechnology,andsimplyuseatransformerwithadifferentturnsratio

anda60Hzoscillator.DCinputcurrentisvirtuallyunchangedforagivenoutputpower.Whilea
60Hzinvertercantheoreticallyuseaslightlysmallertransformerthana50Hzunit,thedifference
issosmallthatitcanbeignoredforallpracticalpurposes.
CircuitexamplesshowMOSFETsusedforswitching,butmanyhighpowerinvertersuseIGBTs
(insulatedgatebipolartransistors)becausetheyaremoreruggedandaredesignedforveryhigh
currentoperation.Somebudgetinvertersmayusestandardbipolartransistorsiftheyareonlylow
power,becausetheyarecheaperthanthealternatives.
1InverterOverview
Theideaofaninverterissimpleenough.Weuseanoscillatortogeneratetherequiredfrequency
(50or60Hz),andusethatastheinputtoapoweramplifier.Becausetheamplifier'sworking
voltageisgenerallyfairlylow(typically12or24VDC),atransformerisusedtostepupthevoltage
to230Vor120Vasrequired.Mostinverterswillusethetransformeraspartofthepoweramplifier
itself,becausethismakestheoveralldesignmuchsimpler,especiallyformodifiedsquarewave
designs.
Let'sassumethatthecircuitis100%efficientjustforthemoment.Thismakescalculationsnice
andsimple,andalsogivesusaroughideaofwhatthefinalcircuithastobeabletodoinreallife.
12VDCisaverycommoninputvoltage,andthisissuitedforuseincars,motorhomesandfor
computerUPSapplications.Thefirstthingwenowneedtoknowishowmuchoutputpowerdo
weneed.Forthesakeoftheexercise,let'sassume1,000W(1kW).
Toobtain1kWat120Vrequiresanoutputcurrentof8.33A,or4.35Aat230V.Unfortunately,1kW
at12Vmeansthatweneed83.33Afromthebattery,ignoringalllosses.Ifyouwantedtobeable
toprovide1kWfor1hour,you'llquicklydiscoverthatyouneeda12Vbatteryratedataround
120AH(amphours).LeadacidbatteriesarethemosteconomicalchoiceforaUPS,andthat's
whatyoualreadyhaveinthecar(makesurethatyoudon'tfullydischargethebattery).Leadacid
batteries(includinggelcellandAGMtypes)provideareducedcapacityiftheyaredischarged
quickly.Forexample,a120AHbatterywillusuallyonlyprovideitsclaimedcapacityifdischarged
atthe10hourrate(i.e.10hoursatacurrentof12Afora120AHbattery).Higherdischarge
currentmeansthatthecapacityofthebatteryisreduced.
TheabovecurrentrequirementsreferonlytotheRMSoutputcurrent(AC),andtheaverageinput
current(DC).For230Voutputfroma12Vsource,theaverageDCinputistypicallyaround20
timestheRMSoutputcurrentforamodifiedsquarewaveinverter.DCinputcurrentishigherthan
theroughcalculation,becauseitmustincludeanallowanceforlossesinthesystem.Inrealityitis
wisetoloweryourexpectations.
It'sprobablyfairtosaythatinvertersareafairlyevilloadforanybattery,especiallyifyouexpect
morethanafewwattsoutput.It'sequallyfairtosaythattheoutputofanyinverterthatisn'ta
sinewave('pure'sinewave)isalsoaprettyevilsourceforagreatmanyloads.It'snoteven
possibletogivealist,becausesomanyloadsarenowelectronicallycontrolled.Onceelectronics
isinvolvedwithaload(especiallymotorsandtransformers),it'sonlypossibletoknowwhat's
involvedifyouhavedetailedspecificationsand/oracircuitdiagram.
Someproductsmightstatewhethertheyaresuitableforusewithvariousinverters,butmost
don't.Mostswitchmodepowersupplieswillbehappyenough,buttheymaybesubjectedto
higherpeakcurrentthannormaliftheinputisnotasinewave.PCsshouldbealrighttheyarethe
veryloadthatmostUPSsystemsaredesignedfor.Ifindoubt,seekadvicefromtheappliance
manufacturer.

Invertersarecommonlyclassifiedbytheiroutputwaveform,soyouwilltypicallyseethefollowing
typesoffered...
1.
2.
3.
4.

Squarewave
ModifiedSquarewave
ModifiedSinewave
PureSinewave

Notethat'modifiedsinewave'and'modifiedsquarewave'invertersareactuallyquitedifferent,but
it'scommonforthetwotobelumpedtogetherandthetermsusedinterchangeably.Thisispartly
becausethereisnostrictdefinitionoftheterms,andadvertisingmaterialisnotoriousforbending
therulestomakeaproductseemmoreappealing.Claimingthataninverterismodifiedsinewave
soundsmuchbetterthansayingit'smodifiedsquarewaveparticularlyforpeoplewhohavealittle
knowledgeofsuchthings.Thethreemostcommontypeshavetheirwaveformsshownbelow.In
eachcasetheRMSvalueofthevoltagewaveformis230V,butonlythemodifiedsquarewaveand
sinewavetypesmaintainthecorrectpeakvoltageof325V.

Figure1InverterWaveforms,All50Hz,230VRMS

Forthesquarewaveandmodifiedsquarewavewaveforms,Iaddedthesinewaveasanoverlayso
youcanseethedifferenceclearly.The'modifiedsinewave'waveformisn'tshownherebecause
it'ssomewhatmorecomplexandhardertoproduce.Therearealsoseveraldifferentwaysto
createamodifiedsinewave,andthesearediscussedbelow.Asnotedabove,inmany
advertisementsyouwillseethemodifiedsquarewavetypereferredtoasmodifiedsinewave.This
isfalseadvertising,butsomepeoplereallydon'tknowthedifference.
Allsquarewavebasedinverterswillcausestresstointerferencesuppressioncomponentsfittedto
theconnectedappliance.Asinewavehasarelativelygentlerateofchangeofvoltage(DVDTaka
VT,thechangeofvoltageovertime).Squarewaves(modifiedorotherwise)haveaveryhigh
DVDT,andadditionalfilteringisneededontheinverteroutputtoreduceittosomething
acceptabletothemostcommonloads.
FilteringisalsoneededsothatproductswillpassEMI(electromagneticinterference)teststhat
applyinmostcountries.It'snotatalluncommonforinverterstocauseradiointerference,
especiallyontheAMbands.Youcanalsoexpecttobetoldthatthisinterferencewillcause
cancer,yourbellybuttonwillfalloffandyou'llgetingrowntoenailsasaresultof'dirtyelectricity'

asit'sbecomeknown.Maybebadthingswillhappen,butit'snotlikeweuseinverterspressed
closetoourbodiesallday.Most'pure'sinewaveinvertersalsocreateinterferencebecausethey
operateathighswitchingfrequencies.
2SquarewaveInverters
Thesimplestinverterisasquarewavetype.Theoscillatorisverybasic,andtheyarefairlyeasyto
build.Unfortunately,theratioofpeaktoRMSvoltageisverydifferentfromasinewave,andthis
willcausestresstosomeappliances.Motorsandtransformersinparticularwillusuallydrawmuch
highercurrentthantheyaredesignedfor,sotheymayrunhotenoughtocauseprematurefailure.
Mostswitchmodepowersuppliesdon'tcare,andwilloperatequitehappilyfromasquarewave
input.Interferencesuppressioncapacitorswillbestressedbythefastrisetimeofthesquarewave.
AsinewavehasapeaktoRMSratioof1.414(2),soa230Vsinewavehasapeakvalueof325V
anda120Vsinewavehasapeakof170V(closeenoughineachcase).Asquarewavewitha
peakvalueof325VhasanRMSvoltageof...325V.PeakandRMSarethesame.Ifthevoltageis
reducedsothattheRMSvoltageiscorrect,thenmanyelectronicpowersupplieswillseeagreatly
reducedinputvoltagebecausemanychargefiltercapacitorstothepeakofthevoltage.Sowhere
theloadexpectstoseepeaksof325V(or170V),itwillonlyget230Vor120Vpeaks.Someloads
willnotpowerupproperlyifthevoltageistoolow.
Theabovenotwithstanding,Iwillexplainabasicsquarewaveinverterfirst,becausethesame
switchingcircuitryisusedforthemodifiedsquarewaveconverteraswell.Thesimplesquarewave
iseasytounderstand,andwillmakeiteasiertofollowthemorecomplexoptions.Themost
commonarrangementforsimpleinvertersistouseatransformerwithacentretappedlow
voltageprimary.Thecentretapisconnectedtothe12VDCsupply,andeachendofthewinding
isconnectedtoearth/groundinturn.ThisisshowninFigure2.Itisimportanttounderstandthat
theremustbenotimewhenbothMOSFETsoftransistorsareturnedonatthesametime,so
thereisashortperiodwherebothareturnedoff.Thisisknownas'deadtime'.

Figure2BasicSquarewaveInverter

TheinvertershowninFigure2isverybasicithasbeensimplifiedtosuchanextentthatitis
easytounderstand,butitdoesnotworkverywell.Thebiggestproblemismentionedabovethe
peakandRMSvoltagesarethesame,andthislimitsitsusefulness.However,thesamebasic
circuitoperatedatahigherfrequency(25kHzormore)isexactlywhat'susedwithagreatmany

DCDCconverters.SeeProject89asanexample.R1/C1andR2/C2aresnubbercircuitsthat
reducehighvoltagespikesfromthetransformer.
Evenoperatedat50Hz,thecircuitisfairlyefficient.It'sveryimportanttochoosetransistorsor
MOSFETsthathaveaverylow'on'resistance.Itisimperativethatlossesintheswitchingdevices
areminimised,andheavywireisneededforallinterconnectionsandonthetransformer's
primary.Everysmallresistancesaddupquitequicklyinahighcurrentcircuit,andit'seasyfor
lossestobecomesogreatthatoverallefficiencyisreduceddramatically.Thisisnotwhatyou
wantwhenoperatingequipmentfromabattery,becauseamphourscostmoney.
Asshown,theoutputstageisverysimilartothatusedinagreatmanydifferentinverters.The
onlydifferencebetweenthecircuitshownandamodifiedsquarewaveinverteristheoscillatorand
thetransformervoltageratio.Forthesquarewaveinverter,thetransformerratioisdeterminedby
...
Rt=Vout/Vin(WhereRtisthetransformationratio,VinistheinputvoltageandVoutistheRMS
outputvoltage...equaltothepeakvoltagewithasquarewaveinverter)
Rt=230/12=1:19.16

Theabovedoesnotmakeanyallowanceforlosses,andtheratiowouldneedtobebetween1:20
and1:22(foreachprimarywinding)toallowforlossesacrosstheMOSFETsandinthe
transformerwindings.Thistypeofinverterhasnomechanismforregulation,sotheoutputvoltage
willvarywiththeload.Tokeepthevariationtoaminimum,alllossesmustbekeptaslowas
possible.
AnACwaveformswingspositiveandnegative,sothepeaktopeakvoltageisdoublethepeak
voltage.Thisisaccomplishedbythetransformer,whichhasadualprimarywithacentretap.
Becauseofthedualprimary,theratiomayalsobewrittenas1+1:20(forexample).Theratio
basedonthevoltageacrosstheentireprimaryis1:10andthepeaktopeakinputvoltageis
actually24V.ThisisthevoltageacrosseachswitchingMOSFETitvariesbetweenclosetozero
and+24V.Thisissimpletransformertheoryifyoudon'tunderstand,thenpleasereadthe
articlesTransformers,Part1andTransformers,Part2.
3ModifiedSquarewaveInverters
ToprovideawaveformthathasthesameRMSandpeakvoltagesasthemains,weneedto
modifythewaveformtothatshowninFigure1B.Theremainderofthecircuitremainsexactlythe
same,butthetransformerratioischangedsothatthepeakvoltageiscreated.
Rt=Vpeak/Vin
Rt=325/12=1:27.08
Again,allowancesmustbemadeforswitchingandtransformerwindingresistance,sothefinal
ratiowillbearound1:30toobtaintherequired325Vpeakvoltagefora230VRMSvoltageunder
load.Alotofcommonloadsrelyonthepeakvoltage,inparticularsimpleswitchmodepower
supplies.Unfortunately,it'snotfeasibletoregulatethepeakvoltagewithabasicdesign,butitis
relativelyeasytoregulatetheRMSvoltagesimplybychangingthewidthofthevoltagepulses.As
thepulsewidthisincreased,theRMSvoltageisincreased,eventhoughthepeakvoltagemaybe
reduced.
Forawaveformwithexactly325Vpeaks,eachpositiveandnegativegoingpulseneedstobe
exactly5mswide.Thismeansthatfora50Hzwaveform(20msforonecompletecycle)the

voltagewillbeasshowninFigure3.ThisisthesamewaveformasthatshowninFigure1B,but
expandedforclarity.

Figure3ModifiedSquarewaveWaveformInDetail

Naturally,for60Hzmainsthetimingisdifferent,buttheessentialpartisthatthewaveformperiod
isdividedevenlyinto4discretesegmentsthatareexactlyequal.For50Hz,theperiodis20ms,so
thewaveformismadeupof4*5mssegments.Itmightnotbeimmediatelyapparent,butthis
givesthesame1.414peak/RMSvalueasasinewave.TheRMSvalueis230Vandthepeakis
325V(giveortakeafractionofavolt).Thedistortionisaratherhigh47%(THD),andalthoughit
canbereducedbychangingthewidthofthepulses,doingsochangesthevoltage.Thebest
distortionfigure(28%THD)isachievedwhenthepulsesareabout7mswide(insteadof5ms),but
theRMSvoltageisincreasedtoover270V.Allinall,equallytimedpulsesanddeadtimearefar
simplertogenerateandgiveafairlygoodoverallresult.
Thetransformerrequiresadifferentturnsratioasdescribedabove.Apartfromtheoscillator,the
invertercircuitisidenticaltothatshowninFigure2.Theoscillatormustbemorecomplexto
producethewaveform,butit'snotdifficultandcanbedoneinmanydifferentways.Oneofthe
easiestistouseaPIC(oranyotherprogrammablemicrocontroller),whichalsomeansthat
frequencystabilitycanbeextremelygoodifthecontrollerusesacrystaloscillator.
RegulationoftheRMSvoltagecanbeachievedbymakingthevoltagepulseswiderornarrower,
butthepeakvoltagecannotberegulatedwithoutextremecircuitcomplexity.Forasimpleinverter
that'ssuitableformanycommonloads,theadditionalcircuitrywillneverbeaddedbecausethe
circuitwouldnotbesimpleanymore.
SinceitiseasytoregulatetheRMSvaluebysimplychangingthewidthofthepulses,youmay
thinkofthisasavery(very!)crudeformofPWM(pulsewidthmodulation).Andsoitis.Itis
theoreticallypossibletoaddafilterthatwillgiveapassablesinewaveattheoutput,butbecause
thefrequencyissolowitwouldbeuneconomicalandwouldactuallycreatefarmoreproblems
thanitwouldeversolve.
4ModifiedSinewaveInverters
WhilethemodifiedsquarewaveinvertercanbeseenasaverycrudeformofPWM,oneformof
modifiedsinewaveuseslowspeedPWMtoachievearoughapproximationtoasinewave

(discussedbelow).Anothervariationistobuildastepwaveform,byswitchingdifferent
transformerwindingsinandoutofcircuit.Thisisshownbelow,andyoucanseethatitisstarting
toresemblearatherpiecemealsinewave.Thisisacrudeformofpulseamplitudemodulation
(PAM),atechniquethatwascommonforabriefperiodbeforefullydigitalsystemswere
economicallyfeasible.

Figure4ModifiedSinewaveWaveform

Thiswaveformcannotbecreatedusingthesimpleswitchingshownabove,andrequiresa
transformerwithmoreprimarywindingstogeneratetheoutputvoltage.Bycarefullyadjustingthe
numberofturnsandswitchtimingit'spossibletogetawaveformwithdistortionofaround26%or
better.Becauseoftherelativecomplexityofthewaveform,ithastobecreatedusingdiscrete
logic(cheapbutinflexible)oraprogrammablemicrocontroller(PICorsimilar).
Thistypeofinverterisnotcommon,becauseitstransformerismorecomplexanditneeds
additionalswitchingtransistorsanddrivercircuits.WithClassDamplifiertechnologynow
commonplace,it'seasierandcheapertobuilda'true'sinewaveinverterthantomessaround
tryingtoimplementaworkablemodifiedsinewave.Togiveyouanideaoftherelativecomplexity,
Figure5showsasimplifiedcircuit.

Figure5SimplifiedModifiedSinewaveSchematic

It'snolongerappropriatetocallthefrequencygeneratoranoscillator,becauseithastogenerate
arelativelycomplexwaveform.Thismakeitawaveformgenerator,ratherthanasimpleoscillator.
Itmaynotbeimmediatelyapparenthowthiscircuitworks,sofirstlet'sassumethatweareabout
togenerateapositivehalfcyclefollowedbyanegativehalfcycle.
1. Thereisnooutputforthefirst1ms,allMOSFETsareoff
2. Output1goeshigh,turningonQ1.Currentflowsthroughtheupperprimarywindingsfor
2ms
3. Output1goeslow,output2goeshigh,turningonQ2.Currentflowsthroughhalftheupper
primarywindingfor4ms
4. Output2goeslow,output1goeshighagainfor2ms
5. Alloutputsremainlowfor2ms,thenwestartthenegativehalfcycle
6. Output3goeshigh,turningonQ3.Currentflowsthroughthelowerprimarywindingsfor
2ms
7. ...theremainderofthecycleshouldbeapparent,helpedbythewaveformsshownforeach
waveformgeneratoroutput
ItisimperativethatnotwoMOSFETsareeveronatthesametime,orextremelyhighand
possiblydestructivecurrentwillflow.Thismeansthattherewillbesmallglitchesintheoutput
waveform,butmostloadswillbeunaffected.Somebasicfilteringwillremovethehighest
harmonicfrequencies,andisessentialtopreventradiofrequencyinterference.Snubbercircuits
havenotbeenshown,norhasthefuse.
Thewaveformtimingsdescribedareonlyintendedasanexample.TooptimisethepeaktoRMS
ratioanddistortionperformanceitwillbenecessarytomakesmalladjustmentstothetimingof
eachpulseandoffperiod.Thiswillalsobenecessarytochangethefrequencythetimingofthe
pulsesdescribedwillprovidea50Hzoutput.
Thereisanothervariantofthe'modifiedsinewave'inverterthatuseslowspeedpulsewidth
modulation(PWM).Ratherthanuseaswitchingfrequencyof25kHzorso,itcanbedonewitha
frequencyofaround550Hz.The'sampling'frequencyshouldbeanoddharmonicofthedesired
fundamentalfrequencytoensureasymmetricaloutputwaveform.

Figure6LowSpeedPulseWidthModulationWaveform

Thereisverylittlepointtryingtofilterthiswaveform,becausethesamplingfrequencyisfartoo
lowandnosensiblefiltercanremovetheharmonics.Ihavenopersonalexperiencewiththistype
ofinverter,soIcan'tbecertainhowmostcommonloadswillbehave.Becauseoftheveryhigh

harmoniccontent,mostmotorsandtransformersarelikelytobestressedandmayoverheat.With
96%harmonicdistortion,it'sbyfartheworstsofar,andifyouaregoingtogotothetroubleof
PWM,thenitmightaswellbetherealthingfromtheoutset.Liketheother'modifiedsinewave'
variantshownabove,itwillcostsolittlemoretoimplementatruesinewavethatlowspeedPWM
isnotworthconsidering.
5PureSinewaveInverters
Makingapuresinewaveinverteris(intheory)notespeciallydifficult.Allyouneedisasinewave
oscillatoroftherightfrequency,apoweramplifiertoprovidethecurrentyouneed,anda
transformertoincreasethevoltageto230Vor120VRMS.Unfortunately,thisisveryinefficient
andmakespooruseofthebattery'scapacity.Thisusedtobefairlycommonforsinewave
laboratorypowersupplies,andIhaveoneonmyworkshop.It'sverylarge,extremelyheavy,and
althoughthewaveformisextremelygooditrunshotenoughatfullloadtomakefulluseofthe
heavydutyfansthatarefitted.Forgetbatteryoperationentirely,becauseitoperatesfrom
relativelyhighvoltagetokeepthecurrentwithinsensiblelimits.Thispowersupply(it's
inappropriatetocallitaninverter)usesavastnumberofpowertransistorstoallowittodrive
'difficult'loads.
AlthoughitispossibletousemuchthesamepoweramplifierarrangementasshowninFigure2,
agreatdealoffeedbackisneededtoobtaingoodlinearity.It'sgenerallyeasiertouseamoreor
lessconventionalpoweramp(butrememberingthatithastobefullyprotectedagainstaccidental
shorts,normalmomentaryoverloadsandpossiblyveryreactiveloads.Thismakestheamplifier
complexandexpensive,andmoresoifyouwanttooperateiffromalowsupplyvoltage.
Whenthesupplyvoltageisonly12VDC,it'salmostessentialtoruntwoamplifiersinbridge(BTL)
mode,sincethateffectivelydoublesthesupplyvoltage.Usingalinearpoweramplifierisnot
viableforaninverterforaUPS,becausetheefficiencyispoor(expectnobetterthan~60%for
'realworld'circuits),althoughitcanbeincreasedslightlyattheexpenseofsomedistortion.
Expectingbetterthan70%isgenerallyunrealisticunlessthesinewaveisclippedtotheextentthat
itresemblesasquarewave.

Figure7Clipped'Pure'SinewaveWaveform

Withdistortionofjustover5%(themainscanbeworsethanthat),anRMSvoltageof231.5Vand
apeakvalueof310V,theabovewaveformisveryclosetothatobtaineddirectlyfromthemains.
Becauseoftheclipping,theefficiencywillbeinthevicinityof7075%somewhatbetterthanthe
theoreticalmaximumwithapuresinewave.Thetransistorsstillneedsubstantialheatsinks,andof
courseeveryWattofheathastobesuppliedbythebattery.
Asshouldbeapparent,thisisnotanidealcircuit.Therelativelylowdistortionisgoodformotors
andotherinductiveloads,andcauseslittlestresstoanyloadbecauseit'sclosetowhatcomes
outofawalloutlet.Howevertheextrabatterydrainishighenoughthatyoulosenearly30%ofthe
battery'scapacityinheat.
Becausethisisnotaviableoption,norepresentativecircuitisprovided.Ifanyonewantedtobuild
aninverterusinglinearamplifiers,itisfeasibleandpotentiallyusefulifthepowerlevelsarelow.
Oneexamplethatcomestomindistouseacrystalcontrolledsinewaveoscillator,ICpower
amplifierandasuitabletransformertocreateupto10Worso.Suchanarrangementisidealfor
drivingsynchronousclocksthatgenerallyonlyuse23Watthemost.Ensuringthattheamplifier
doesclipwillhelptoreducethetotalpowerdissipation.
6PulseWidthModulation(PWM)
PWMisthetechnologyofchoiceformaximumefficiencyandacleansinewaveoutput.The
modulationfrequencyshouldbehighenoughtoensurenoonecanhearit,whichtypicallymeans
atleast25kHz.Lowerfrequenciescanbeused,butthenoisefromthetransformerorfilter
inductormaybeintolerableandthefiltercomponentswillbelargerandmoreexpensive.There
arecountlesschipsetsavailableformakingPWMcircuits,andit'snotdifficulttogetveryhigh
performancewithhighefficiency.It'spossibletogetaproperlydesignedClassDamplifiertohave
anefficiencyofbetween80%and90%,buttherewillalsobetransformerlossesthatmustbe
considered.
Forpoweroutputofmorethanperhaps200W,theClassDamplifierwillalmostcertainlyuse
discretecomponents.ICamplifiersareavailablethatcandomore,butaninverterisaspecial
casewhenitcomestotheload.Manycommonloadswillpresentclosetoashortcircuitwhenfirst
poweredon(motors,toroidaltransformersandsimplemainsrectifierfiltercapacitorpower
suppliesforexample),andthiscausesextremestressontheamplifier.
Foranoutputof500W(forexample)at230V,theloadimpedanceis106ohms.Sincethe
transformerwillneeda1:30ratio(1:900impedanceratio),theeffectiveloadonthepower
amplifierisonly118m0.118ohm!Thisisanextraordinarilylowimpedance,andgivesyouan
ideaofthekindofloadexperienced.Rememberthatthiscandroptoalmostzero,limitedonlyby
theresistanceofthetransformerwindings,andsofarhasonlyconsideredaresistiveload.
There'smoreinfoonthetransformerratiosbelow.Tocombatthehighlossesexperiencedatsuch
lowimpedances,it'swise(andmoreefficient)toincludeaboostconvertertoincreasethe
available12Vtosomethingmoremanageable.Naturally,therewillbelossesinvolvedintheboost
converter,butwithcarefuldesigntheywillbelessthanthelossesincurredwithoutit.
ToexaminetheprocessesneededforaClassDpowerampforinverters,Isuggestthatyouread
theTexasInstrumentsapplicationnote[2].Thisrecommendstheuseofa'trilevel'PWM
waveform,generatedbydedicatedlogicandusesabridgedoutputstage.Ahighlysimplified
explanationisshownhereaswell,andIexpectthatitwillbesomewhateasiertounderstand.It's
alsoworthlookingattheClassDarticleontheESPwebsite[3].

Figure8DerivationOfPWM(Blue)FromInput(Red)AndReference(Green)

GeneratingthePWMwaveformis(atleastintheory)delightfullysimple.Asinewaveisfedinto
oneinputofacomparator,andalineartrianglewaveformintotheother.Whenthesignalvoltage
isgreaterthanthereference,theoutputofthecomparatorishighandviceversa.Thecomparator
outputwilllooklikethebluetraceinFigure8.Beingasimpleon/offwaveform,it'seasytoamplify
andtheoriginalsinewavecanbereconstructedusingarelativelysimpleinductor/capacitor(LC)
filter.Naturally,realityisdifferent.DedicatedchipsetsthatareavailabletogeneratePWMsignals
willgenerallygivefarbetterresultsthandiscreteICs,andwillprovidemuchoftheothersupport
functionsaswell.TheseincludeMOSFETgatedriversandcyclebycyclecurrentlimiting,both
essentialforaninverterexpectedtodeliversignificantcurrent.
Theessentialfunctionsareshownbelow,butwithoutincludingafullschematic.Figure9ishighly
simplified,becauseacompleteschematicistoocomplextofolloweasily.Thetwooscillatorsare
showninthenextsectionone50Hzsinewaveoscillatorandone25kHztrianglewaveoscillator.
TheseareusedtogeneratethePWMwaveform.Notethatinswitchmodepowersupplylanguage,
abridgedoutputstagelikethatshownbelowiscommonlyreferredtoasan'H'bridge,andis
drawnsothattheswitchingdevicesandtransformerformtheshapeoftheletter'H'.

Figure9SimplifiedPWMSinewaveInverter

Asshownabove,itispreferabletouseabridgedamplifiertodrivetheprimary.Thishastheeffect
ofdoublingthesupplyvoltage,sothemaximumswingacrossthetransformerisalmost8.5VRMS
(24Vpeakpeak)ratherthanjustunder4.25Vthatcanbeobtainedfromasingle12Vsupply.The
currentthateachMOSFETstagemustcontrolisextremelyhigh,andMOSFETswithextremely
lowRDSon(onresistance)areneeded.Atanoutputofjust1Apeakintotheload,eachMOSFET
willbeswitchingapeakcurrentofatleast30ADC.
ThebridgedPWMamplifiersaredrivenjustlikeanyotherbridgedamp,butwithaPWMsignal.
Becausethehighfrequencyswitchingmayplayhavocwithatransformerattached,itmight
necessarytousetheoutputlowpassfilterssothattheswitchingsignalisisolatedfromthe
transformer.Ifthetransformerismadetohaveverylowleakageinductance,itwillbepossibleto
placethelowpassfilterattheoutput,butthismeansthattherequiredinductancewillbegreater
thanthatneededifthefilterisinthelowvoltagecircuit.TheMOSFETdriversectionsare
responsibleforlevelshifting(highside)andforprovidingtherequireddeadtimetoensurethat
theverticalMOSFETpairs(Q1,Q2andQ3,Q4)areneveronatthesametime.
6.1HighVoltagePWM
Foranyhighpowerinverter,thetransformerbecomesamajorpartoftheunit,insize,weightand
cost.Iftheinverterusesaswitchmodeboostsupplytoobtainthepeakvoltageneededforthe
output,itcanuseamuchsmallertransformerbecauseitwillswitchat25kHzormore,ratherthan
50Hz.Theoutputstagethenworkswiththefullpeakvoltage,either325Vor170VDC,tosuit
230Vand120Vmainsrespectively.Abasicdiagramofthiskindofinverterisshownbelow.By
usingahigherDCvoltage(e.g.400Vfor230Voutput),itbecomespossibletoprovideregulation
thatcanbeasgoodasyouneedittobe.

Figure10DCDCConverter,HighVoltagePWM

ThisarrangementallowstheDCDCconvertertobeoptimised,andthetransformercanbea
greatdealsmallerthanwouldotherwisebethecase.AlthoughonlytwoIGBTsareshownforthe
DCDCconverter,ideallyitwoulduseseveralhighcurrentdevicesinparallelsothatthe
extremelyhighcurrentcanbehandledwithminimumlosses.Sincethisarrangementmaybeused
withinvertersofanypower,butitonlybecomeseconomicalforanoutputofperhaps250VAor
more(typicallyallowingfora500VApeakor'surge'rating).Atanoutputofjust500VA(or500W),
theaverageDCcurrentwillbearound47Aallowingforlosses.
Theoutputstagewillbean'H'bridgesothattheDCvoltageisonlyhalfthatotherwiseneededfor
afullACcycle.Itmayseemsillytousetwoseparatestages,havingaDCDCconverterfollowed
byaPWMsinewavegeneratoratthefullmainsvoltage,butithasmanyadvantagesandifdone
properlywillbemoreefficientthanasingleswitchingstage.Thisapproachalsomakesregulation
easier,butitrequiresverycomprehensiveprotectivecircuitsaroundtheoutputswitchingdevices
(notshowninFigure10).
Providingprotectionisn'tespeciallydifficult,butitneedstobefastenoughtoprotecttheswitching
devicesunderworstcaseconditions.Mainsloadscanbeveryhardoninverters,becausethere
aresomanythatappeartobeclosetoashortcircuitwhenpowerisapplied.Mostswitchmode
powersupplies,largetransformersandmotorsareespeciallydifficult,withmotorsbeingoneof
thehardestofall.Startcurrentfortypicalmotorsisveryhigh,andifthemotorhastostartunder
load(refrigerationcompressorsbeingoneoftheworst)theproblemisagreatdealworse.Ifthe
invertercan'tsupplyenoughcurrentforthemotortostart,eithertheinverterorthemotor(orboth)
maybedamaged.

Figure11PhotoOf300WHighVoltagePWMInverter

Thephotoaboveshowstheinsidesofa300Winverterthatfollowstheblockdiagramshownin
Figure10prettymuchexactly.TheoutputsectionisdrivenbyaPICmicrocontrollerandtwo
IR2110combinedhighsideandlowsideMOSFETdrivers,eachdrivingapairofIRF840high
voltageMOSFETs.ThePICisresponsibleforgeneratingthesinewave,probablyusingasimple
tabletodeterminethepulsewidthneededforeachtransition.It'scrystalcontrolled,sothe
frequencywillbefairlyaccurate,butthiswasn'ttested.Distortionisverylowallharmonicsare
below40dB,sototaldistortionisunlikelytoexceedaround2%thisisanexcellentresultforan
inverter.
ThemaininvertersectionusesapairofIGBTstohandlethehighcurrent.Thelargeyellowcore
markedPSI300Wistheinductorfortheoutputfilter,alongwitha2uF,300VACcapacitor.The
othercoreyoucanseeistheswitchingtransformerthatconvertsthe12Vinputtoapproximately
350VDC,switchingat~40kHz.

7Oscillators
Therearemanydifferentwaystomakeoscillatorsthataresuitableforgeneratingsinewavesand
trianglewaves.Inahighlyintegratedcommercialdesign,theywillprobablybothbedigital,and
preferablycrystallockedsothefrequencyisaccurate.ForaUPS,thesituationiscomplicatedif
youwanttheoutputofthegeneratortobeinphasewiththemainssothechangeoverisfreeof
glitches.Inthecaseofastandalonesinewavegenerator,wedon'tcare,especiallyasthesystem
canalsooperateasafrequencychanger.Producing60Hzmainsina50Hzcountry(orvice
versa)isafairlycommontestinglaboratoryrequirementforexample.
Theoscillatordescribedinthefirstreference[1]andshowninFigure10isfairlystraightforward,
andhasgoodfrequencystability.Amplitudestabilityisdeterminedbythesaturationvoltageofthe
firstopamp,andmayvaryslightlywithtemperature.Foramorecomprehensivelookatvarious
sinewavegeneratortechniques,seeSinewaveOscillatorsCharacteristics,Topologiesand
Examples.ForanACsource,distortionbelow1%ismorethanacceptable,andevenaClassD
stagecanbenefit(slightly)byallowingittoclipthepeaks.Formostapplicationsitdoesn'tmatter
atallifthegeneratedmainswaveformhasupto5%totaldistortion,andthiseasesthedemands
onthe50/60Hzoscillator.Inparticular,itmeansthatamplitudestabilisationtechniquesaren't
needed,simplifyingthedesign.

Figure12ThreeStagePhaseShiftSinewaveOscillator

Whilethedesignisstraightforwardandhasfairlylowdistortion,theamplitudewillvaryalittleas
thefrequencyischangedviaVR1.Theamplitudecanbevariedtosomeextentbychangingthe
ratioofR3andR4,butthisalsochangesthefrequencyandisnotuseful.U1operatesasa
amplifierwithgaincontrolledbyR3andR4.Asshownithasagainof10(100k/10k),andifthe
gainisreducedbymuchitwon'toscillate.Highergainmakesoscillationacertainty,butatthe
expenseofhigherdistortion.Witha12Vsupply,theoutputlevelisabout460mVRMSwitha
distortionof0.8%.Frequencyis50HzwithVR1setto52k.Becausetheoutputsinewaveistaken
fromtheoutputofanopamp,ithaslowimpedance.Toobtainahigherlevel,U4canbewiredas
anamplifier,ortheoutputcantakenfromU3(930mVwith2%distortion).
ThisoscillatorisusableforeitherlinearorClassDinverters.There'sobviouslynotmuchpoint
makingasinewaveoscillatorforamodifiedsquarewaveinverter.Agoodsinewavecanalsobe
createdusingdigitalsynthesis,andthathastheadvantagethatitcanbecrystalcontrolled.While
absolutefrequencystabilityisusuallynotveryimportantforaninverter,itdoesn'thurtanything
andifitcomes(virtually)freethenwhat'snottolike?APICcanbeusedtogeneratethe

sinewave,andalsomonitorcircuitperformance,temperature,etc.

Figure13SchmittTrigger+IntegratorTriangleGenerator

Thetrianglewavegeneratorcanalsobedonemanydifferentways,butasshownaboveisfairly
simpleandhasgoodlinearity.U1iswiredasaSchmitttrigger,havingpositivefeedbackapplied
toitsnoninvertinginput.U2isanintegrator.TheoutputfromU2increasesuntilthenoninverting
inputofU1isforcedhigherthanthereferencevoltage(Vref)attheinvertinginput.Itrapidly
switchesitsoutputhigh,causingtheoutputofU2tofalllinearlyuntilthenoninvertinginputofU1
isforcedlowerthanVref.Thecyclerepeatsindefinitely.Withthevaluesshownanda12Vsupply,
theoutputamplitudeis4Vpeaktopeakatafrequencyof25.8kHz.VR1allowsyoutosetthe
leveltomatchthatfromthesinewavegeneratorfortheoptimummodulationlevel.C2isusedat
the'bottom'endofVR1sothatthe6Vreferencevoltageisretained,anddoesn'tvarywiththepot
setting.R6ensuresthatthetrianglewaveandDCreferencelevelcannotbelost,evenifthepot
becomesopencircuit.

Figure14ComparatorToCreatePWMWaveform

BycombiningthecircuitsofFigure12andFigure13andaddingacomparator,wegetacomplete
pulsewidthmodulatorandyes,itreallyisthatsimple.Forabetterideaoftheexactwaveforms
involved,refertoFigure8.TheoutputisPWM,andisreadytosendtotheswitchingMOSFETs
viaasuitablelevelshifterandgatedriverIC.Thesearereadilyavailable,withtheInternational
RectifierIR2110beingoneofthemostcommon.Thispartisspecificallydesignedtodrivethe

gatesofMOSFETsforClassDamplifiers.

Figure15(Left)PWMWaveform,2.5kHzwith50HzModulation
Figure16(Right)Recovered50HzSignalWithSpectrum

Figure15showstheoutputofapulsewidthmodulatoralongthelinesofthatshowninFigure14.
ThemaindifferenceisthatIusedanopamp(whichworksbutisisn'treallyfastenough),andI
hadtoreducethetrianglewaveformfrequencyto2.5kHzsothewaveformcouldbeseenproperly
ontheoscilloscope.
TherecoveredwaveformisshowninFigure16,alongwiththefrequencyspectruminthelower
violettrace.The50Hzwaveformisthespikeattheextremeleft,andthe2.5kHzresidual(withits
sidebands)isseeninthecentreofthefrequencydomainmeasurement.Thefilterusedwasjusta
simpleresistorcapacitorlowpasstypewitha3dBfrequencyof159Hz(10kresistorand100nF
capacitor),sothere'smoreofthe2.5kHzsignalthanyou'dnormallysee.Ifthemodulationcarrier
frequencyisincreasedto25kHz,the50Hzwaveformisverycleanindeedevenwithsucha
crudefilterandslowopamp.
8Regulation
Manyinvertersoffer'regulation',butit'softennotproperregulationthatmaintainsbothpeakand
RMSatthedesignatedoutputvoltage.Formodifiedsquarewaveinverters,theregulationcircuit
willattempttomaintaintheRMSvoltageasthepeaksagsunderload.Thisisdonebymakingthe
'on'periodslonger,andtheoutputvoltagestartstoresemblethatfromasquarewaveinverteras
theloadisincreased.
TruesinewaveinvertersusingPWMwilluseavarietyoftechniques,buttheeasiestissimplyto
allowtheoutputwaveformtoclip.ThealternativeistoensurethatthePWMamplifierhassome
headroom,andtoapplyacomprehensivefeedbackcircuittoensurethattheACoutputremains
withinpresetlimits.
Withallinverters,itisessentialtorealisethatthecurrentontheinputsidewillbeveryhigh.That
meansthateverythinginthechaincanaffecttheregulation,fromthebattery,supplyleads,
switchingdevicesandtransformerprimarywindings.Evenaratherpaltry100Winverterwilldraw
8.33ADCat12V,buttheinstantaneouscurrentishigherandlosseshaven'tbeenconsidered.
Theactual(average)currentwillbecloserto10A,andpeakcurrentwillbealmost20A.Evena
smallresistancecausesaseriousvoltagedropforexamplejust0.1ohmwillcausealossof2V
at20A,so12Visnowonly10V.

Itisquiteobviousthatif12Visreducedto10Vatthepeakcurrent,thentheoutputvoltagemust
fallatleastinproportion,andtheremaybeabitmorelossduetointernalresistances.The
requiredpeakof325Vwillfalltoonly270VandtheRMSvaluewillbedowntoabout190V.The
onlywaythatproperoutputregulationcanbeachievediswithfeedback.AhighvoltagePWM
inverterislikelytobetheonlyonethatcanofferbothacceptableregulation(betterthan5%from
noloadtofullload)whilemaintainingthecorrectpeaktoRMSratioseebelow.
9Transformers
Thetransformerusedforaninverterisinvariablyastepuptype.Theprimarymusthaveverylow
resistancebecauseofthehighcurrentinvolved,andinallcasesthetransformerhastobe
designedforthemainsfrequencyinuse.Thismeansthatitwillbecomparativelylargeatleast
thesamesizeasanormalstepdowntransformerintendedforthesameVArating.
Dependingontheintendedusage(intermittentorpermanentlyconnectedforexample)the
allowablelosseswillbedifferent.AtransformerthatwillonlybeusedforoccasionalUPSduties
maybesmallerthantheidealcase,anditwillthereforebecheaper,smallerandlighter.Of
course,itwillalsohavehigherlosses.Theprimaryinductanceisoflittlerealconsequence,butit
mustbehighenoughtoensurethatmagnetisingcurrentat50or60Hzislowenoughtoensure
lossesarewithinsensiblelimits.
Asanexample,afairlybasic(i.e.nothingspecial)mainsvoltagetransformermaydraw50mA
froma230V50Hzmainssupplywithnoload.Thisisthemagnetisingcurrent,andtheeffective
inductanceisthereforecalculatedusingthenormalinductivereactanceformula...
XL=V/I
XL=230/0.05=4.6kohms
L=XL/(2**f)
L=4.6k/(6.283*50)=14.64H
Itfollowsthatiftheturnsratiois30:1(7.66VRMSOutput)thattheeffectivesecondaryinductance
willbeabout488mH,andwhenusedinreversethemagnetisingcurrentwillbearound1.5A.As
alwayswithtransformerdesign,it'sreallyonlythecoresaturationlimitthatneedstobe
addressed,andthisdependsonthecorematerial,thetypeofcore(EI,toroidal,etc.)andthe
maximumallowabledissipationatidle.Contrarytopopularbelief,thecorefluxofanytransformer
isatamaximumwhenthereisnoload.Thefluxalwaysreducesastheloadcurrentisincreased
[5].
Forastepuptransformer,itisessentialthatthelowvoltageprimaryhasenoughturnstoprevent
coresaturation.It'samuchbiggerproblemwithstepuptransformersbecausetheprimary
resistanceisverylow,andevenslightsaturationwillcauseadramaticincreaseinthecurrent
drawnfromthebattery.Unlikeaconventionalmainstransformer,theprimaryresistanceistoolow
toprovideanycurrentlimiting.
Asalways,transformerdesignisacompromise,andtogetthelowestresistancemeansfewturns
ofthickwire.However,ifthewireissothickthatyoucan'tgetenoughturns,thecorewillsaturate
andnoloadlossesbecomeexcessive.Thedesigner'staskistoworkoutthethickestwire
possiblefortheturnsneeded,andtochooseacorethat'sbigenoughtoavoidsaturation,butnot
sobigthatitbecomestooheavyandexpensive.
Perhapssurprisingly,eveniftheamplifierisPWMathighfrequency,thetransformercan'tbea
smallferritecoretype.Thelowfrequencycontent(i.e.themainsfrequency)isthedominant

factor,andthetransformerhastobeabletohandlethat,nottheswitchingfrequency.This
limitationappliesevenifthereisnolowpassfilterbetweentheamplifier(s)andthetransformer's
lowvoltageprimary.
It'snotatalluncommonforcommerciallyavailableinverterstohaveatransformerthatisclearly
toosmall.Inordertogettherequirednumberofturnsneededtoavoidsaturation,thetransformer
mustusewirethatisthinnerthanrequiredtoremaincoolunderload.Thisisusuallyaddressedby
fancoolingthetransformer.Althoughthiscertainlyworksandpreventsthetransformerfrommelt
down,itdoesn'tpreventthelossesthatcausethetransformertogethotinthefirstplace.The
resultisdecreasedefficiency.
Conclusion
Asshouldnowbeobvious,aninverterisnottrivial.Manyofthecheaponesthatareavailableare
onlylowpower,andiftheyclaimtobemorethanaround100VAthenyoucanbeassuredthat
theywon'tbethesizeofadrinkcan.Rememberthatthetransformeralonewillberatedforthe
fullloadcurrent,soevenasmallinverter(100VA,or230Vat430mA)needsatransformerrated
foratleast100VA.Mostwillmakeclaimsofuptodoubletheratedoutputfor'surge'or'peak'
output,butthiswillalmostinvariablymeanthatthetransformerisoverloadedduringthisperiod.A
commonmethodtoallowasmallerthanidealtransformeristofancoolit,andthisisquite
commonforcheapinverters.
Frequencyaccuracyandstabilityarerarelyquoted.Althoughrelativelyunimportantformost
applications(5%accuracywillusuallybequitesufficient)thereareafewcaseswhereboth
stabilityandfrequencyareextremelyimportant.Don'timaginethatanybudgetinverterisstable
enoughtodrivesynchronousclockortimermotorsforexample.Anerrorthat'sinsignificantfor
mostapplicationsisextremelysignificantforclocksandmechanicaltimersthatusethemainsas
areferencefrequency.
Incaseanyonewaswondering,thereisnoprojectforasinewaveinverterandthere'snotaboutto
be.Onlineauctionsiteswillhavemanylistingsforinverters,somewillbemodifiedsquarewave
(butclaim"modifiedsinewave"),andothersshownastruesinewave.Thismayormaynotbethe
truth.Eitherway,atthepricestheysellfor,it'snotworthtryingtobuildone.Ingeneral,I'dsuggest
thatyouhalvetheclaimedrating,asIsuspectthatveryfewarecapableoftheiradvertisedpower
ratings,butevenafterdoingthat,theyarestillcheap.
Becauseoftheveryhighcurrentsinvolved,theswitchingdevicesmustbeextremelyrugged,and
goodprotectionisneededtoensurethatmomentaryoverloadsdon'tcausefailure.Itisalso
necessarytoincludebatteryprotection,sothatifthevoltagefallsbelowapredetermined
minimumvoltagetheinverterturnsoff.Ifthisisn'tincluded,thebatterywillberuinedbecauseall
currentchemistriesaredamagediftheyaredischargedtoofar.Asaguide,youcanassume
about10Aforeach100Wofoutputwitha12Vinput.Thisassumesanoverallefficiencyofaround
83%,whichwillcovermostbudgetinvertersandquiteafewupmarkettypesaswell.
Forthosesoinclined,itcanbeamusingtolookthroughsomeoftheadvertisementsforinverters.
I'veseen2,500W(5,000Wpeak)inverters,whereit'sclaimedthattheunithasa40Afuse.Since
theinvertercanbeexpectedtodrawupto500Aat12V(~250Aatfullratedcontinuouspower),I
wonderwhatthefuseisfor.
References
1. DC/ACPureSineWaveInverterWorcesterPolytechnicInstitute

2.
3.
4.
5.

800VAPureSineWaveInvertersReferenceDesignTexasInstruments
ClassDAudioAmplifiersTheoryandDesign
SinewaveOscillatorsCharacteristics,TopologiesandExamples
TransformersTheBasics(Section1)

MainIndex
ArticlesIndex
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