Integrated Inverter Topologies for Low Power

Photovoltaic Systems
Luigi G. Junior, Moacyr A. G. de Brito, Leonardo P. Sampaio, Carlos A. Canesin1
Universidade Estadual Paulista – UNESP
Laboratório de Eletrônica de Potência – Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica
Av. Prof. José Carlos Rossi, 1370, 15385-000, Ilha Solteira, SP
1
canesin@dee.feis.unesp.br

to the solar cells and they need to be improved to avoid

Abstract- This work presents a brief description of stage maintenance costs along their lifetime.
integration for photovoltaic system converters. In low power PV Aiming to achieve these goals in power electronic
applications the output voltage available is low and a boost stage converters for PV systems, different topologies must be
is necessary for regulated stand-alone or grid-connected. In the
most usual topologies, the boost stage and the inverter stage are evaluated. The main topologies to be evaluated are integrated
separated and cascaded. It simplifies the control schemes and it structures, where the number of passive and active
improves the power decoupling. However, the complexity, size, components can be reduced. It indirectly means cost,
weight, cost and lifetime might be improved considering the efficiency and lifetime improvements.
integration of both stages. A few integrated converters have
been demonstrated and compared, in order to support future II. TOPOLOGIES
evaluations and trends in PV systems.
There are a wide variety of inverter topologies used for PV
I. INTRODUCTION systems [1-3] which are usually classified by the following
features: presence of galvanic isolation, number of stages,
The main challenge for photovoltaic (PV) systems since the stand-alone or grid-connection operation and the place of the
last century has probably been the reduction of installation decoupling capacitor. These features are briefly described in
costs. The idea to get free energy from Sun has always been this section.
very attractive in all over the world. However, despite this A. Galvanic Isolation
energy is provided for free, the installation cost usually needs Galvanic isolation is compulsory in several countries due to
a decade or more to be paid. Since the energy cost provided safety reasons. The galvanic isolation allows the system to be
by utility companies or the most usual energy sources are doubly grounded, but there are some topologies which allow
relatively low, the PV systems have been used mainly in hard the PV panel grounding without galvanic isolation. The
access places such as islands, isolated communities and transformers also help to adjust voltage levels according to
satellites. On the other hand, the most expected applications the transformer ratio, but step-up or step-down converters are
with PV systems are the grid-tied or grid-connected, where no more efficient than transformers.
local energy storage is needed and all benefits of distributed Low frequency (LF) transformers are heavy and inefficient.
generations could be achieved. For this reason, several topologies have been proposed using
In order to reach the grid-connection market, the first goal
for PV systems is to improve the efficiency and to reduce LF
installation costs. The efficiency of PV system is improved (a) AC
using maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms, DC
high efficiency solar cells and high efficiency power
electronic converters. Mechanical solar trackers are also
desirable or mandatory for CPV (Concentrator Photovoltaic).
The installation cost is composed by solar cells cost and
HF
(b) AC DC AC
inverter cost. Cheaper and more efficient solar cells are
continuously being developed by respected research centers DC AC DC
world wide and they are also close to reach the market
expectations. Power converters also must reduce their cost,
improve efficiency and increase lifetime. HF
The solar panels are almost reaching the same cost/watt
(c) AC AC
ratio as the power converters. Therefore the cost reduction of
power converters is meaningful in PV systems. Its efficiency AC AC
has always been far better than the solar cells, but it cannot be
neglected since it is directly related with the pay back time. Fig. 1. Transformers placement schemes.
The lifetime [4] is the drawback of the converters compared
high frequency (HF) transformers to overcome transformers
drawbacks, but it increases the complexity of the circuitry.
The Fig. 1 shows some examples of the use of transformers,
where the use of high frequency needs more stages.
Safety is a design parameter that may be obtained without
the use of transformers. The use of differential breaker and
grounded package are examples of good safety design
without galvanic isolation.
In brief, as described in [1], technically the transformers
are not adequate elements in PV systems, unless it is
determined by law.
B. Number of stages
Usually, the most common topologies have one or two
stages. The number of stages is important to give an idea of
complexity and cost. One stage is the most desirable topology
as in the integrated structures. However, some problems may
appear during integration and some benefits may be lost.
C. Stand-alone or grid-connected operation
The mode of operation implies first on the output type
required: current source (grid-connected) or voltage source
(stand-alone). These differences change basically the output
passive components, as shown in Fig. 2. If both operating
modes are needed there will be three passive components in
the output. The first advantage of grid-tied only inverters is
that no capacitor is needed in AC side.
There are also some differences in the control mode. In
stand alone the output voltage and frequency are regulated
and no synchronization is needed. Also, energy storage is
necessary to operate the panel in the MPP and keep the
regulation simultaneously. In grid connected, the output
current is controlled and synchronized with the frequency
grid. Safety is stricter in this operation and islanding issues
L Several works have proposed boost inverter topologies as a
Last C positive and other for negative output, and this approach
Load
Stage
L boost stage into a single stage capable to boost and invert.
Grid
Last
Stage
L1 L2
Grid
Last C
Stage
Load
Fig. 2. Different output types for different operations.
are also considered.
D. Decoupling Capacitor
The power decoupling is a requirement to operate
effectively in the panel maximum power point. The AC
power is naturally pulsed at twice of the grid frequency. If
this pulsed power is supplied by the PV panel, the voltage
ripple will be very high. In this case the operating point of PV
will oscillate around the MPP and the MPPT will not be
effective. The capacitor of DC link is used as power
decoupling for 2 stages topologies. For 1 stage, the
decoupling capacitor must be placed in parallel with the PV.
Its capacitance is usually around 0,5 mF/kW [1].
III. STAGE INTEGRATION
Only one inverter stage can be used when the input voltage
is higher than the peak output voltage, because no voltage
boost is necessary in this case. However, several PV cells
must be series connected to reach the minimum voltage at the
minimum sunlight irradiation for a reasonable operation. It
means that it is hardly possible for low power and low cost
applications. In addition, at the maximum sunlight the
switches will operate under high voltages. In these cases, the
use of 1kV semiconductors are common.
Small power PV modules (also called AC modules) are bet
as the best market solution nowadays, where a low power
converter is designed specifically for one PV panel. This is
the best for MPPT, for the system reliability and for the
system modularity. Lower price panels can be gradually
purchased and maintenance or installations are independent
for each PV panel. The drawback for these modules is the low
input voltage. A boost stage followed by a full-bridge inverter
is the most common topology.
combination of duplicated DC/DC converters, one for
normally leads to complex circuits with hard control. The
stage integration shown here aims to unite the inverter and the
The Fig. 3 shows the integration steps of the full-bridge and
the boost converter, where the red components are removed.
The first simplification (Fig. 3a) is to make the output boost
current be injected directly in the output capacitor. Then the
DC link capacitor and the inverter output inductor can be
excluded. The next simplification is to remove the boost
diode considering that the switches do not have anti-parallel
diodes. And, finally, the boost switch may be eliminated once
it is in parallel with the full-bridge switches and they can
make the same function in the circuit.
 Sb Db

S1 S2
Cb
Vin- Lb LO
+
CO

S3 S4
(a)

Sb Db

S1 S2

Vin- Lb
+
CO

S3 S4
(b)

Sb
S1 S2

Vin - Lb
CO
+
S3 S4
(c)

Fig. 3. Boost and Full-Bridge Integration Steps. Fig. 4. Buck-Boost and Full-Bridge Integration Steps.

The final topology obtained in Figure 3 is the known It is interesting to note that this integration procedure may
current source inverter (CSI) [5]. The operation of this be done for any DC/DC converters. The Cuk converter
inverter is not as usual as the standard voltage source inverter
(VSI). In fact there is a condition where the output voltage is S1 S2

not controlled and it is when the output voltage is smaller Vin-

Sb
Db
LO
+
than the input voltage, because the buck propriety Lb Cb L2
C2
CO
disappeared during this integration. It means that this
converter can not theoretically provide gain smaller than 1. S3 S4

This is an undesired feature for AC output and may lead to (a)

deformations of the wave form close to the zero crossing.

A possibility to solve this problem is the integration of the S1 S2
buck-boost with the full-bridge inverter as shown in Fig. 4. Sb
Vin- LO
An integration with a Three-State Boost [6-7] can also solve + Db

this problem with one additional switch in Fig. 3. Lb Cb CO

The integration also starts making the output DC/DC S3 S4

converter current be sent directly to the output capacitor. But (b)
in this case, only the diode can be removed, because the
switch is not in parallel with the inverter switches. The buck-
boost inverter is the result of this integration and it can better S1 S2

modulate the sinusoidal output current or voltage waveforms. Vin -

Sb
LO
+
In this integrated structures a decoupling capacitor is needed
Lb CO
in parallel with the PV panel.
This integration is valid for stand-alone or grid-connected Cb S3 S4
operation. In case of grid-connection, a coupling inductor (c)

needs to be added. It can also be easily extended for three-

phase inverters. Fig. 5. Cuk and Full-Bridge Integration Steps.
 Two-Stage Two-Stage
40
100
0 35
-100
30
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Boost Boost
40
100
0 35
-100
30
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Three-State Boost Three-State Boost
40
100
0 35
-100
30
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Three-state Boost on Zero-Crossing Three-state Boost on Zero-Crossing
100 40
0 35
-100
30
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Buck-Boost Buck-Boost
100 40
0 35
-100
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 30
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Three-state Buck-Boost Three-state Buck-Boost
100 40
0
-100 35

0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 30

Cuk 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Cuk
100 40
0
-100 35
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 30
0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1
Time (s)
Time (s)
Fig. 6. Injected Current (x10) and the Grid Voltage. Fig. 7. Demanded Input Current.

integration in Fig. 5, is another example.
The Figures 3, 4 and 5 are stand-alone topologies with a
voltage source output. In order to provide an output current
source, an extra inductor is needed in Figures 3 and 4. For
integrated cuk converter, the output capacitor can just be
replaced by the grid voltage.
Cuk integration is interesting for grid-connected PV
systems because its input and output are current sources
correspondent to the DC/DC converter. It helps to reduce the
decoupling capacitor in parallel with PV and avoid the use of
an extra coupling inductor to the grid.
IV. SIMULATED RESULTS
Five converter topologies have been simulated for grid-
connected operation: Conventional Two-Stages, Boost
Integrated/CSI, Three-State Boost Integrated, Buck-Boost
Integrated and Cuk Integrated. A 1kW PV model has been
used with the same MPPT and PLL algorithms. The control
loops were adjusted to reach the best performance in each
case.
The injected current in the grid by each converter is shown
in Fig. 6. The demanded input current is shown in Fig. 7. This
current is necessary to design the power decoupling capacitor
in parallel with the PV module.
The MPPT method used is the Beta Method presented in
[8]. The performance of MPPT may slightly change
accordingly the topology used. With two-stages, maximum
power can be explored even when this power is not
simultaneously injected in the grid. The panel power is
directly coupled with the injected power for integrated
structures. Therefore, some energy may be lost during output
transient. Fig. 8 shows the transient of the injected power in
the presence of sunlight and temperature step.
V. COMPARISON
The five simulated converters are compared in Table I. The
comparison considers the number of passive and active
components and the quality of operation. The qualitative
comparison is made using circuitry metrics [9], such as
commutated power, utilization factor, output power, the
maximum stored magnetic energy and the total harmonic
distortion of the output current (THDi). These parameters
have been obtained directly from the simulation models.
A reduction of active and passive components has been
observed. All converters have the same number of inductors:
one to boost and other to connect with the grid. The
difference is the magnetic stored energy (EL), which is
usually smaller in integrated topologies.
It was observed that harmonic distortion may increase in
these converters due to the more complex control, mainly
during zero crossing.
The Utilization Factor [9] is a relation between output
power and RMS commutated power (Pc). Despite, the
number of components is reduced; they may be exposed to a
higher voltage or current stress, resulting in a worst utilization
factor.
 TABLE I
COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT CONVERTER TOPOLOGIES APPLIED IN LOW POWER GRID-CONNECTED SYSTEMS
Pout Pc Peak Utilization EL THDi Tracking Switches Diodes Inductors AC DC link
Topology (W) RMS Pc Factor (J) Factor Capacitor Capacitor
(kW) (kW)
Two Stage 905 6.18 24 0.146 0.71 2.40% 97.3% 5 5 2 0 1
Boost Integrated 885 12.24 50 0.072 0.69 9.71% 92.6% 4 0 2 1 0
Boost Tri-State 851 12.20 49 0.070 4.20 0.43% 98.2% 5 0 2 1 0
Boost with auxiliar switch 882 12.20 45 0.072 0.66 4.49% 92.5% 5 0 2 1 0
Buck-Boost Integrated 911 7.28 76 0.125 0.86 8.02% 95.2% 5 0 2 1 0
Buck-Boost Tri-State 863 12.29 59 0.070 5.33 0.39% 98.0% 5 0 2 1 0
Cùk Integrated 911 5.93 42 0.154 0.61 2.41% 93.8% 5 4 2 0 1

A short review of the main topology features of PV system

VI. CONCLUSIONS converters has been described and a stage integration
approach has been illustrated. Some integrated topologies
were compared with the standard two stage converter and the
results showed important improvements. In general, there is a
Two-Stage reduction of components and, consequently, size, weight and
1000
cost. A small degradation of current waveform was also
500
observed, due to the difficult control especially at zero
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 crossing. The study of lifetime is also an important issue for
Boost
1000 further studies.
500
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