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An Overview of Transformerless Inverters for Grid Connected Photovoltaic

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 An Overview of Transformerless Inverters for Grid
Connected Photovoltaic System
Kamran Zeb1,2, Saif Ul Islam1, Waqar Uddin1, Imran Khan1, M. A. Khan3, Sajid Ali4, T. D.C. Busarello5, Hee Je Kim1
1
School of Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University, San 30, ChangJeon 2 Dong, Pusandaehak-ro 63 beon-gil 2,
Geumjeong-gu, Busan-city-46241, South Korea
2
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad-44000,
Pakistan
3
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Air University Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
4
U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advance Studies in Energy, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad-44000,
Pakistan
5
Department of Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina Blumenau, Rua João Pessoa, 2750-89036-256, Brazil
Email: kamran.zeb@pusan.ac.kr, shaheen_575@yahoo.com, waqar_dir98@yahoo.com, imrankhan@pusan.ac.kr,
engradilee@gmail.com, sajidali75092@gmail.com, tiago.busarello@ufsc.br, heeje@pusan.ac.kr

Abstract— In last decade, the booming research on various

aspects of grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) systems has been
observed. In the distribution system a grid-connected inverter is
an important unit to interface Renewable Energy Resource (RER)
with a utility grid. Now a days, the interest of solar market is
increased by the development and new designs of Single Phase
Transformerless Inverters (SPTI) for Photovoltaic System
Connected to the Grid-Connected ranging from 1kw to 10kw. To
compare the inverter based on transformer galvanic isolations, its
favorable properties are: light in weight, low cost, small in volume,
simplicity and high efficiency. In these topologies, galvanic
isolation can be achieved by including additional switches either at
the input (DC) side or at output (AC) side. The AC side has high
efficiency as it has low number of switches in conduction path. In
proposed paper, a comprehensive review is presented on SPTG-
CPV inverters. Power converters technology and topologies for PV
systems are comprehensively reviewed. Comparison and
evaluation on the basis of efficiency, total hormonic distortion,
weaknesses, strengths, leakage current and semiconductor losses
is also performed. Future trends and selection of efficient topology
for new researchers, designer, and engineers is similarly focused.
Index terms— Photovoltaic (PV), Renewable Energy Resource
(RER), Single Phase Transformerless Inverters (SPTI), Grid
Connected
I. INTRODUCTION
It is approved by the national everlasting strategies that the
typical resources of power generation are temporary and
depreciating. Vast installations of Renewable Energy Resource
(RER) like wind energy and solar Photovoltaic energy in the
last decade are appreciated to be connected with the grid [1]. In
several years, solar PV installation is increasing exponentially
and plays an important role in electrical power requirements in
some countries [2]. Considering Italy, in 2014 nearly 7.9% of
the annual electrical demand was met by Solar PV System
reached 38.2 GW by the end of 2014, which is mostly
residential load [3]. Solar PV generation capability throughout
the world in last 15 years is shown by Figure 1.
However, cumulatively installation of the world is also
predicted up to 2021 [4]. it is suspected that wind energy will
be dominated by solar PV energy in near future due to the
absence of greenhouse emissions. According to [4], in 2017 the
totaled built in quantity of wind and solar is 540 GW and 405
GW, respectively. Additionally, in 2020 the total installation
capacity of solar PV will overcome wind energy.
For inter-connection of RER like solar PV with utility grid,
power electronics devices contribute incredible role [5]. With
the improvement of power semiconductor devices [8], for
stable, reliable, efficient and clean energy conversion, power
electronic devices are always associated with solar PV system.
The PV power converters for inter-connection with grid are
commercializes in market intensively [6]. To deliver solar PV,
DC power to an AC powered grid, for this purpose a power
electronic based inverter is used which takes more penetration
level in the market day by day. The DC to DC converter in
combination with an inverter i.e., Current Source Inverter (CSI)
or Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) is utilized to decouple power
from PV system to electrical grid. Along with this a suitable
control management is also required to achieve the desired
reference grid parameters and efficiency. To control the active
and reactive components of power introduced to the grid, DC
link voltage is maintained to its nominal value by controlling
grid injected current [7].
Considerably, high deviations occur in a PV system from
low rating (hundreds of watts) to high rating (hundreds of
megawatts) PV modules. To compare the inverter based on
transformer galvanic isolations its favorable properties are:
light in weight, low cost, small in volume, simplicity and high
efficiency. On the base of leakage current minimization, the
above-mentioned topologies are classified as galvanic isolation
with Common Mode Voltage (CMV) and without CMV
clamping

978-1-5386-7939-5/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

 Figure 1: Global Cumulative Installations 2000-2021 [4]

Table I: Overview of surveys on control of grid connected inverter

Ref PVM CTFI PV HB-IS NPC- TFI-C TPV- TCS- CA-II ND Focused Area
GS PCT IS & CO IS SPTGS
[8] Y N Y N N N Y Y N N Inverter and control
[9] N N Y Y N N N N Y N Grid-connected Inv
[10] Y N Y N N N Y N Y N Grid-connected PV
[11 N Y N Y N Y Y N Y N Grid-connected Inv
[12] Y Y N Y Y Y N N N N Transformerless Inv
[13] Y N N Y N N Y N N N Grid-connected PV
[14] N Y N Y Y Y N N N N Transformerless Inv
[15] N N Y Y N Y N Y N N Transformerless Inv
[16] N N Y Y N N Y N N N Grid-connected PV
[17] N N Y Y Y N Y Y N N Grid-connected PV
[18] Y N Y N N N Y Y N N Grid-connected PV
[19] Y Y Y Y Y N N N N Y Grid-connected PV
[20] N Y Y Y Y Y N N N N Transformerless Inv
[21] N N Y N N Y Y Y N N Grid-connected PV
[22] N N Y N N Y Y Y N N Grid-connected Inv
[23] N Y Y N N N Y Y Y N Grid-connected Inv
[24] Y N Y N N N Y N N N Solar PV system
[25] Y N Y N N N Y N N N Grid-connected PV
[26] Y N Y N N N Y Y Y N Grid-connected PVI
[OS] Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Grid-connected PVI
Note: PV Market: Global Status (PVM GS), Classification of Transformerless Inverters (C TFI), PV System Power Converter Technology
(PV PCT), H-Bridge based Inverter Structures (HB-IS), Neutral Point Clamped Inverter Structures (NPC-IS), Transformerless Inverters: a
characteristic and comparative summary (TFI-C & CO), Typical PV Inverter Structures (TPV- IS), Typical Control Structures for SPTI
Connected to Grid (TCS-SPTIGS), Comparative Assessment of Industrial Inverters (CA-II), New Developments (N D), Target Research
(T R), Inverter Control (IC) Y for presence (Y), N for absence (N).
 Galvanic isolation can be achieved by including additional
switches either at the input side (DC) or at output side (AC) of
Full Bridge inverter or Neutral Point Coupling (NPC) strategy.
Because of a smaller quantity of switches in transmission path,
the AC side power decoupling gives better proficiency. As
already mentioned above, a large part of residential load is met
by PV system and will expand exponentially in the upcoming
years. The interest of research field deviated towards PV
inverters for the sake of higher efficiency and introduced a
variety of “novel” on transformer less strategies extracted from
H-bridge which is efficient and having low CM/EMI (H5,
HERIC) [15,26]. The advancement and control strategies of
transformer less topologies are reviewed widely by this review.
In Table I, various surveys that are recently published in the
field of transformerless inverters and grid connected PV
systems are detailed, that covers different aspects.
The remaining of the paper is systematized as: Section II
presents power converters technology and topologies for PV
systems. A detailed comparative overview of transformerless
PV inverter is discussed and described in Section III.
Conclusion and proposal for future work is presented in Section
IV.
II. POWER CONVERTERS TECHNOLOGY AND TOPOLOGIES FOR
PV SYSTEMS
Considering the advancement in technologies, for the purpose
to inject PV power to grid in an organized way, usually there
are five available configurations [2, 9, 27], as depicted from
Figure 2. Each configuration consists of PV panels or strings of
PV panels in parallel combination according to output voltage
and power ratings, which is followed by power electronic
converters like DC to DC converters and DC to AC inverters.
Basically, the classification of power converters is string
inverter, central inverter, multi string inverter and according to
module levels there are two modules i.e. AC module and DC
module [9, 10]. For three phase PV power plants usually multi
Figure 2: a) small residential structures, (b) small residential structures, (c) residential, (d) commercial/urban, and (e)
commercial/utility-scale [2, 9, 27].
string and central converters are preferably used [28].
Although, for small level like residential loads single-phase
plants with string and module converters are generally used
[29]. There is difference in power converters according to
configuration, however, power converters have the same
fundamental functions i.e., requirements of grid codes, control
of reactive power, phase synchronization, maximum power
point tracking, conversion of DC into AC, and detections and
protection of islanding [9]. To accomplish consumer demands
and to effectively incorporate these smart functionalities
advance and intelligent controls are required. Furthermore, grid
integration of the PV can be improved by monitoring,
communication, and forecasting, technologies [30]. An
extensive diversity of power converter topologies is utilized
and developing regularly due to: (a) the search for the
ultimate/smart PV inverter, (b) the exponentially increasing
development in the installed capacity of PV, and (c) the
development in the technology for power converter, for PV
applications. Classification of industrial inverter topologies i.e.
AC Module, Central, String, Multistring configurations is
presented in Figure 3 [31, 32].
III. A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF TRANSFORMERLESS PV
INVERTER
Different type of topologies analyzed under research and
critical thinking up till now are keenly compared in this portion
considering various parameters like leakage current, number of
MPPTs, output voltage, power semiconductors, and number of
input capacitance and capacitors as depicted in Table II and
Table III. The main factor that minimizes the price of the
inverter is the sum of the switches, that’s why researcher
focuses on less quantity of switches for converters. A smooth
and desirable wave form of output current is possible with a
good output voltage wave form, which is easily filtered. The
losses are analyzed and presented in Figure 4. which are
implemented in thermal module of PSIM.
Figure. 3: Classification of industrial inverter topologies i.e. ac Module, Central, String, Multistring configurations. (MV: medium
voltage, 2L-VSI [31].

Table II: Comparison of various SPTG-C PV inverter topologies

TI/PI Full Bridge Half Bridge HERIC H5 H6 Neutral Point A-NPC Flying Conergy-
Topology Topology Clamped Capacitor NPC
Cost M L H H H M H M M
Input Capacitance L H L L H H H H H
Maximum Efficiency - - - 98.5 97.4 98.16 97.34 - 97.67
Transistor Voltage 400 800 400 400 600 400 400 400 400
Leakage Current H VL VL VL VL VL VL VL VL
Number of MPPT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Output Voltage Level 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Diode 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0
Switches 4 2 6 5 6 4 6 4 4
Note: TI/PI: Types of Inverter /Performance Indices, M: Medium, L: Low, H: High, VL: Very Low
 Table III [31]: Features of various inverter topologies

Topologies LC IV (V) S E (%) D A

Half Bridge M 700 2T * high DC-link voltage stress low cost
Conergy NPC VL 800 3 T+ 4 D ** device stress is high low conduction losses
Full Bridge M 400 4T * High Leakage Current (HLC) -
Dual-Buck L 400 4T+2D **** Extra Devices Essential (EDE) better proficiency
Neutral Point Clamp VL 400 4T+2D ** high device stress Very Low Leakage Current
(VLLC)
Three-Level NPC VL 800 4T+2D *** highly Complex VLLC
H5 L 400 5T *** unbalance switching low component count
Single-Buck M 400 5T+1D ** HLC only one filter inductor
HB-ZVR L 400 5T+5D * low efficiency high complexity -
Virtual DC Bus L 400 5T ** On 5 Switch current stress only one filter inductor
HERIC L 400 6T+2D *** EDE leakage current at line
frequency
H6 L 400 6T+2D ** EDE leakage current at line
frequency
HRE L 400 6T+6D **** highly Complex very better Proficiency
oH5 VL 400 6T *** EDE VLLC
Cascaded M 400 8T - EDE and complex control Lower commutation & THD
Note: IV: LC: Leakage Current, Input Voltage, E: Efficiency, S: Switches, M: Moderate, D: Diode: Transistor, A: Advantageous: Disadvantageous, VL: Very Low,

To fulfil the present requirements of electrical energy

and to achieve the future load it is very important to expand the
range of renewable energies. However, the main problems with
the emerging power source are reliability, system security and
stability due to its non-linear behavior. Therefore, it is the main
requirement to analyze the power electronic converters for the
purpose of integration of solar PV power to utility grid as per
grid code requirements specified by grid operator to inject
current with low harmonics. Additionally, the PV arrays
available now days have low efficacy and research is required
into material fabrication of PV panels to increase its efficiency.

A beneficial research came by the last decade in the field

Figure 4: Various topologies loss analysis at 1 kW
of power electronic devices to improve the grid connected
converter topologies. In the proposed research reliability, high
IV. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
efficiency, power density and overall performance are specially
focused. Some of the prestigious research topic on transformer
The efficiency of decoupling topologies of AC side like
less converters are: (a) enabling medium voltage by using
HERIC and REFU are more than decoupling topologies of DC
transformerless multilevel converter for grid integration, (b)
side as per research carried out. As the significant part of losses
future power conditioners based on Qausi-Z-source-network. It
takes place in conduction path and the AC bypass branch is
is suspected that in the near future the PV market will be
isolated from conduction path. It provides a freewheeling path
dominated by SiC semiconductor- devices based power
only reduces the conduction losses up to an optimum limit.
converters. The upcoming GaN made PV converters combined
According to losses, AC decoupling family have maintained its
with SiC based power converters will open a new era to
priority on DC decoupling family. The analysis of losses is the
improve the efficiency of grid integrated PV system. Along
key term for engineers to design a transformerless topology
with this the entry of thin film PV arrays and devices having
with a high efficiency. The NPC three phase topologies are
wide bandgap will definitely give a new direction to research.
usually preferred for the rating above 10kw as compared to FB
based topologies due to its complexity. As well as for high
rating i.e., hundreds of kw where multilevel inverter is very
useful, here the attraction for NPC topologies also occur.
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