Active Filters for Harmonics Elimination in Solar Photovoltaic Grid-Connected

and Stand-Alone Systems

Indranil Bhattacharya, Yuhang Deng, Simon Y. Foo

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32310, USA
bhattin@eng.fsu.edu, yuhang@caps.fsu.edu, foo@eng.fsu.edu

Abstract systems. This standard has been widely accepted in North

Power converter’s output signal harmonic control is America to avert the power quality problems in grid connected
currently becoming immensely important in medium and high systems [2].
power applications due to the development of new grid codes.
Advancement in transistor technology has lead to significant Table 1: Low-Voltage System Classification and Distortion
changes from large thyristor-equipped grid-connected Limits, IEEE Std. 519
inverters to smaller and fast switching IGBT (Insulated Gate
Bipolar Transistors) equipped converters. These IGBT’s
increases the power switching frequency in order to extract
more energy and fulfill the grid connecting standards. Grid
codes usually define a maximum allowed level for each
specific harmonic and determine the maximum tolerated THD
(Total Harmonic Distortion) of the output signals.
Unfortunately, these IGBT-based power drivers generate
harmonics that are subsequently transmitted into the power
bus. The harmonics are normally eliminated by passive LC or
RLC filters. However this passive filtering system has its own
limitations. In this paper, we analyze the harmonics created by
the IGBT-equipped converter using Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT) analysis. The converters are connected to the PV
(Photovoltaic) arrays and the utility grid for grid-connected
applications and PV arrays & battery modules for stand-alone
applications. Using a second-order Butterworth Filter we
showed that the THD has been reduced from 32.59% to Table 2: Current Distortion Limits for General Distribution
1.59%. Systems (120V through 69,000V), IEEE Std. 519

Keywords Maximum Harmonic Current Distortion in Percent of IL

Harmonics, IGBT, THD, Grid-Connected, Stand-Alone, Individual Harmonic Order (Odd Harmonics)
PV, Passive Filter, Active Filter, Butterworth Filter.

Introduction
High power applications need to fulfill specific grid codes
for the integration of energy systems into the distribution grid.
In this way, power converters need to be connected to the grid
by using tuned filters to minimize unwanted harmonics and
decrease the weight, size and total cost of the system. IEEE
Std. 519 was first introduced in 1981 and most recently
revised in 1992 to provide direction on dealing with harmonics
(voltage and current distortion) introduced by static power
converters and nonlinear loads. This standard helps to prevent
harmonics from negatively affecting the utility grid. IEEE
standard 519 mentioned in Table 1 depicts the total harmonic
distortion (THD) allowed for voltage applications of different
systems. Table 2 mentions the maximum harmonic current
distortion allowed in percentage of load current [1, 2]. IEEE
Std. 519 has been established as the recommended practices The European grid code EN 50160 requirements including the
and requirements for harmonic control in electrical power Quality Grid Code CIGRE WG 36-05 requirements for higher

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harmonics are shown in Table 3 [3]. High efficiency
multijunction solar cells have been developed and compared
favorably with state of art solar cells [4, 5]. We are trying to
integrate those high efficiency solar cells with the internal
circuitry of a house for stand-alone applications. In this case
the PV arrays and the storage devices are connected to DC to
AC inverter as mentioned in Figure 1. For grid-connected
applications the PV arrays are connected to the DC to AC
inverter and then the utility grid as shown in Figure 2. Our
focus is to remove harmonics created by fast switching of
IGBT converter circuit used in PV applications. We reduce
the THD to a great extent using active Butterworth filter rather
than conventional way of using passive filters.
Table 3: Grid Code EN 50160 Requirements + Quality
Grid Code CIGRE WG 36-05
Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of Stand-Alone PV System,
Courtesy of Clean Electricity from Photovoltaics, page 690
Figure 2: Schematic Diagram of Grid-Connected PV System,
Courtesy of Clean Electricity from Photovoltaics, page 690
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The advantages gained by using fast switching IGBT in power
converters resulted in some associated disadvantages. The fast
switching speed of IGBT has resulted in high level of
electromagnetic interference (EMI). The switching mechanism
in a power converter generates both common-mode (CM) and
differential-mode (DM) EMI [6]. The presence of current and
voltage harmonics in power distribution systems enhances
power loss in the lines, decreases the power factor and can
cause resonance in the circuit [7]. The harmonics caused in the
converter may interfere with sensitive and delicate electric
household appliances, which is undesirable. In motor drives
and electrical networks the harmonics can cause potential
physical damage or unwanted tripping relays [8]. Harmonic
contamination is a major concern for power system specialists
because of increased losses, excessive heating in rotating
machinery, significant interference with communication
circuits sharing common AC power lines and noise generation
leading to erroneous equipment operation. The harmonics
generated are normally eliminated by passive LC or RLC
filters. However in practical applications passive filters have
several disadvantages, hence active filters have been
researched and developed. Active filters, unlike passive filters
are constructed from op amps, resistors and capacitors, and no
inductors are needed. Active filters can handle very low
frequency signals and they can provide voltage gain if needed
(unlike passive filters). Active filters offer comparable
performance to LC filters and they are easier to make, less
finicky and designed without the need of large sized
components. In active filter a desired input and output
impedance can be provided independent of frequency. One
major drawback with active filters is limited high frequency
range. At frequencies above 100-kHz, active filters may be
unreliable because of op amps bandwidth and slew rate
requirements. At radio frequencies it is best to use a passive
filter. Butterworth filter is the most efficient filter among
active filter designs. They have very flat frequency response in
the middle passband region. Butterworth filters are relatively
easy to construct and the components needed tend not to
require strict tolerance unlike other filters [9, 10].
Configuration Block, Simulation Results and
Analysis
We have developed an IGBT based three phase inverter
circuit to demonstrate the harmonics or noise created by the
IGBT switching through the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
analysis. We then have implemented a second order analog
Active band pass Butterworth Filter to remove the harmonics
generated by the power bus and compared that with our
previous results. Figure 3 depicts the block diagram of our
system model. The DC voltage acquired from the PV array is
connected to DC/AC converter through a DC/DC converter.
The excess energy stored in the energy storage elements like
fuel cell, Li-ion batteries or ultra capacitors are also connected
to the DC/AC converter via DC/DC converter. DC voltage is
then converted to AC voltage and current by the 3-phase
PWM inverter and connected to utility grid for grid
applications and individual load for stand-alone applications.
The inverter controls the magnitude and frequency of the AC
output voltages. This is achieved by PWM of inverter
switches. For fast switching and voltage controlled device
application IGBTs are used as switches. These IGBT-based
power drivers generate harmonics or noise that is subsequently
transmitted into the utility grid or individual load and limits
the performance of the grid system. This voltage and current
harmonic distortion should abide by the IEEE Std. 519
requirements to avert the negative consequences of harmonics
in utility grid. We have designed an active 2nd order
Butterworth bandpass filter to remove the harmonics created
by the IGBT based power driver.
fed as the input switching to the first IGBT/Diode switch of
the first leg of the inverter. The complement of the comparator
output is fed to the second IGBT/Diode switch to make it sure
that when the first switch is in ON state the second switch is in
OFF state, and vice-versa. The design topology is the same as
in the other two inputs of the inverter, however the phase of
the control triangular wave is varied by 2.094 radian (for 120º
phase shift) and 4.1888 radian (for 240º phase shift),
respectively. The simulations are performed with MATLAB
SimPowerSystems.

Figure 3: Block Diagram of System Model

The three phase inverter circuit used as the power driver

consists of three inputs, one for each phase. We want the
inverter output to be sinusoidal with magnitude and frequency
controllable. In order to produce a sinusoidal output voltage
waveform at a desired frequency a sinusoidal control signal at
desired frequency is compared with a triangular waveform.
The frequency of triangular waveform determines the inverter
switching frequency and is kept constant with the amplitude of
triangular wave. The triangular wave is at a switching
frequency and denotes the frequency (also called as carrier
frequency) at which the inverter switches are switched. The
control signal modulates the switch duty ratio and has a
frequency that is the desired fundamental frequency of the
inverter output voltage. The inverter output voltage is not a
perfect sine wave and contains harmonics or noise. To obtain
balanced three phase output voltages in three phase PWM
inverter, the same triangular voltage waveform is compared Figure 4: IGBT based three-phase PWM Inverter used as
with three sinusoidal control voltages 120º out of phase. In Power Driver
three phase inverters only the harmonics in the line to line
voltages are of concern [11].
Figure 4 depicts the IGBT based 3-phase pulse with
modulated DC to AC converter used as a power driver circuit.
The switching operation is performed by IGBTs connected in
parallel with diodes. The DC voltage of 270V has been
applied as the input to the inverter circuit. Sinusoidal control
signal of magnitude 1V and frequency 376.99 radian/sec (sine
wave of frequency 60 Hz) is compared with triangular
waveform of frequency of 5 kHz. The triangular waveform to
be compared varies between -1V to 1V, hence the time period
are set as 0, 0.1×10-3 and 0.2×10-3 for -1, 1 and -1 respectively.
The frequency of triangular waveform determines the inverter
switching frequency and is kept constant with the amplitude of
triangular wave. The triangular wave is at a switching
frequency and denotes the frequency (also called carrier
frequency) at which the inverter switches are switched. The Figure 5: Line to line Voltage Outputs of the 3-phase PWM
comparator output (control sine wave vs. triangular wave) is Inverter

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The line-to-line voltages are measured using oscilloscope
across each of the three outputs of the inverter and denoted as
Vab, Vbc and Vca as shown in Figure 5. There is a significant
amount of harmonics present in these line-to-line output
voltages. If we perform the Fast Fourier Transform analysis of
the line to line voltage output Vab of the three phase PWM
inverter as mentioned in Figure 6 we can interpret that lot of
harmonics are present in the output.
Figure 6: FFT Analysis of Line to line Voltage Outputs of the
3-phase PWM Inverter
This harmonics removal is our major concern as harmonics
from the IGBT power driver is contaminated in the utility grid
or individual load and create adverse effects. The IGBT based
3-phase power driver executed 32.59% of harmonics (THD) in
the line to line voltage output. The spikes shown in Figure 7
depict the harmonics present in fast switching IGBT power
driver for different frequencies. Our objective is to reduce or
eliminate this harmonics to a great extent to follow the IEEE
Std. 519 grid code for North America and Grid Code CIGRE
WG 36-05 for European countries.
Figure 7: Harmonics Present in IGBT Power Driver Circuit
We have incorporated 2nd order active bandpass Butterworth
filters in each of the lines of the 3 phase PWM inverter circuit
to eliminate the harmonics. Butterworth filters are the most
popular filters used. They have very flat frequency response in
the middle passband region although have somewhat rounded
bends in the region near -3dB point. Butterworth active filters
are relatively easy to construct and the components needed
does not require strict tolerance considerations. To design
active bandpass filter it is important to determine if a wide-
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band or narrow-band type is needed. Here we have used a
wide-band type of Butterworth filter to eliminate harmonics
for long range of frequencies. In this case the upper 3dB
frequency and divided by the lower 3dB frequency is greater
than 1.5. We have cascaded a high-pass active 2nd order
Butterworth filter with an active 2nd order low-pass filter for
our wideband applications. In our design of 2nd order active
Butterworth filter we have used 1 rad/sec as the lower
passband edge frequency and 10,000 rad/sec as the upper pass
band edge frequency. Figure 8 represents the line to line
voltages Vab, Vbc and Vca after the implementation of active
Butterworth filters at each of the voltage lines. We see that
voltage waveform is almost a smooth AC sinusoidal wave
with each of the line voltages 120º out of phase with each
other. There is hardly any harmonics left in the output. The
voltage output is easily distinguishable than the voltage output
mentioned in Figure 5 without the application of active filters.
The harmonics for the frequency range of the active
Butterworth filter have suppressed the harmonics in that range
and allowed the output voltage to pass smoothly.
Figure 8: Line to line Voltage Outputs of the 3-phase PWM
Inverter after implementing bandpass Butterworth Filter
In Figure 9 we have denoted the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
of the line voltage Vab. We see that a smooth AC voltage is
achievable (after applying the active Butterworth filter) in the
output unlike the one mentioned in Figure 6 (without the
application of active filter).
Figure 9: FFT Analysis of Line to line Voltage Outputs of the
3-phase PWM Inverter Power Driver after application of
Active Butterworth Filter
Figure 10 shows that the line voltage THD have been
eliminated by the active Butterworth filter.
Figure 10: Harmonics Eliminated in IGBT Power Driver
Circuit by Active Bandpass Butterworth Filter
The active bandpass filter has allowed the required voltage to
pass through the specified frequency range but have blocked
the harmonics to pass through the same frequency range. The
Butterworth filter is designed using the Sallen-key filter
topology and is made up of operational amplifier and resistor
and capacitor components. The values of resistors and
capacitors are chosen with reference to the cut off frequencies
of the bandpass design. The active filter design has reduced
the harmonics present in the line voltage from 32.59% (Figure
7) to just 1.59%. The total harmonic distortion has been
filtered by the Butterworth filter and now is distinctively less
than the permissible IEEE Std. 519 or Grid Code CIGRE WG
36-05 standards.
Conclusion
IEEE Std. 519 for North America and European grid code
EN 50160 for Europe has specified the permissible voltage
and current distortions in a grid for efficient power
transmission and distribution. Power converter’s output signal
harmonic control is therefore becoming extremely important
to maintain those standards. IGBT based fast switching
converters are becoming immensely popular replacing large
thyristor-equipped grid-connected inverters because of the
ability to extract more energy and fulfill the grid connecting
standards. The PV and wind power systems use these IGBT
based fast switching converters to convert the generated DC
voltage to its AC counterpart. Unfortunately, these IGBT-
based power converters generate harmonics that is
subsequently contaminated to the utility grid and individual
load and affects the performance of the entire system. The
harmonics generated are normally eliminated by passive LC or
RLC filters but they have their own limitations like excessive
heat, phase shift, large and heavy iron core inductors etc. In
this paper we have analyzed the harmonics created by the
IGBT-equipped converter connected to the PV arrays for
stand-alone and grid-connected applications, using Fast
Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. We have incorporated a 2nd
order active Butterworth filter and showed that we were able
to reduce the voltage THD from 32.59% to 1.59% which is
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universitas Indonesia. Downloaded on July 07,2020 at 02:39:35 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
significantly lower than the allowed THD of 10% for
dedicated systems as mentioned in IEEE Std. 519.
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