Solar PV Systems

6 – Inventor

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 Outline
 Function
 Principle of DC-AC conversion
 Types of Inverters
 Selection of Inverters
 Sample Inverters

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 Inverters: Function
 PV modules generate DC current. Though there are
many appliances that can work with DC electricity,
common household items need AC electricity.
 Therefore, there is a need to convert DC to AC.
 Inverters are electronics components that convert
DC to AC.
 Inverters are used in PV application in different
configurations depending on the application
needed.
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 In stand-alone systems inverter is used to convert DC
to AC such that household appliance can be used.

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 Inverters: Function
 In grid-connected systems it is necessary to have inverters to
convert the DC generated from the PVs into grid compatible AC.
 No battery, No Charge controller.
 Note that in this configuration, if the utility gird is down the house
can not get electricity even if the PV is generating power.

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 To avoid the above problem the inverter connections
can be designed as shown.
 Battery bank and charge controller are needed.
 In this case the house can get electricity even when
the grid is down.

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 Principle of DC-AC conversion
AC to DC using On-Off switches
 When S1 and S4 are turned on, the current flows in the direction of A.
 When S2 and S3 are turned on, the current flows in the direction of B.
 If the above operations are repeated at a certain frequency, the DC is
converted to AC.

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 The frequency of the generated AC can be controlled by specifying
the time at which the switches are turned on and off.
 For generating 50 Hz AC, the period at which the pair of switches
should alternate will be 0.01 seconds.
 This means S1 and S4 should be ON for 0.01 seconds while S2 and
S3 are OFF. Then S2 and S3 should be ON for 0.01 seconds while S1
and S4 are OFF. The period is hence 0.02 seconds which gives
frequency of 50 Hz.

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Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
 The ON-OFF switches can be made using electronic
devices in a more efficient way.
 PWM employs short duration pulses to control the
voltage. Proceeding from the previous switches the
pulse duration determines the voltage level.

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 In PWM the pulse duration varies as shown in
order to get sinusoidal AC with the required
frequency.

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 Inverter: Types
Based on Commutation
 External commutated inverters need an external AC voltage
supply (which is not part of the inverter), to supply the
“commutation-voltage”. The external AC voltage is supplied
by the grid. Such inverters only used for high power
generation (above 1 MW).
 Self-commutated inverters do not need an external AC-
voltage supply for commutation. Self commutated inverters
have been designed for all kind of conversion of electrical
energy for energy flows in one or both directions

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Based on Connection to PV Array
 Central inverter: Central inverters are particularly
suitable for building up photovoltaic systems with a
homogeneous structure (modules of the same type with
an identical alignment and inclination). They are used
for installations from 100 kW upwards and, in most
cases, are designed for outdoor installation.
 String inverter: In string technology, the photovoltaic
generator is subdivided into individual module surfaces
and each of these individual "strings" has its own string
inverter allocated to it. This technology allows the
system costs to be reduced while at the same time
making installation a lot easier and increasing the
energy yield and system availability. 13
 Multi-String inverter: An inverter
which, to a large extent, combines the
advantages of several string inverters
(separate MPP control of individual
strings) and a central inverter.
 Micro-inverter: A micro-inverter is a
device that takes the DC output of a
single solar module and converts it into
grid-compliant AC power.

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Based on Working Principle
 Transformerless Inverters are the most efficient,
with most transformerless inverters rated between
97.5 and 98.5% efficient.
 High-Frequency Inverters are a step lower in
efficiency, making up the middle range.
Manufacturers claim the most efficient transformer-
isolated string inverters on the market are at 96%
efficiency.
 Low-Frequency Inverters are large, heavy, and
robust due to the large transformer, but with
efficiencies as low as 90%, these inverters lag both
high-frequency and transformerless PV inverters.
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 Inverters: Selection
 The selection of the inverter for the
installation will depend on:
 the energy output of the array
 the matching of the allowable inverter
string configurations with the size of the
array in kW and the size of the individual
modules within that array
 whether the system will have one central
inverter or multiple (smaller) inverters.
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 Inverters currently available are typically rated for:
 maximum DC input power i.e. the size of the array in peak
watts
 maximum specified output power i.e. the AC power they can
provide to the grid.
 minimum and maximum DC voltage input,
 maximum DC input current,
 The peak power of the array is calculated using the following
formula:
Array Peak Power = Number of modules in the array x the rated
maximum power (Pmp) of the selected module at STC.
 In order to facilitate the efficient design of PV systems the inverter
nominal AC power output cannot be less than 75% of the array peak
power and it shall not be outside the inverter manufacturer’s
maximum allowable array size specifications.

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 When manufacturers nominal AC power is not
specified, the inverter can be sized based on PV
Module De-rating. De-rating is due to manufacturer
tolerance, temperature effect and dirt on the modules.
 Inverter with crystalline modules: 0.97 for
manufacture, 0.95 for dirt, 0.825 for temperature
(based on ambient of 35°C). The de-rating of the array
is: 0.97 x 0.95 x 0.825 = 0.76 (76%)
 Inverter with thin film module: The temperature effect
on thin film modules is less than that on crystalline
modules. The temperature de-rating at ambient
temperature of 35°C is 0.965, for manufacturer 0.97,
for dirt 0.95. The de-rating of the array is: 0.97 x 0.95
x 0.965 = 0.889 (88.9%).
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 In addition to checking the array DC power and output AC
power, the voltage and current of the array and the inverter
has to be matched.
 Inverters are specified with minimum and maximum voltage.
Hence the minimum and maximum voltages have to be
matched with the array voltages considering temperature
effects.
 When the temperature is at maximum then the maximum
power point voltage should not fall below the minimum
inverter voltage. Similarly, when the temperature is at
minimum the open circuit voltage should not exceed the
maximum inverter voltage.
 The total short circuit current of the array should not exceed
DC input current specification.
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Example:
Consider an inverter with minimum voltage of
140 V and maximum voltage of 400 V. The
module has Vmax of 35.4 V and Voc of 43.2 V
at STC and a voltage coefficient of -0.177 V/ 0C.
A) Assuming cell temperatures will reach 70 0C
and cable loss of 3%, determine the number of
modules in the string.
B) Assuming cell temperature will reach 0 0C
during cold weather, check the number of
modules that can be connected in the string.
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 Inverters: Selection
A)
Vmin_mpp = 35.4-0.177(70-25) = 27.4 V
With 3% loss = 27.4-0.03*27.4 = 26.6 V
No. modules in a string = 140V/26.6V = 5.3 rounded up 6 modules
B)
Vmax_oc = 43.2-0.177(0-25) = 47.6
No. modules in a string = 400V/47.6V = 8.4 rounded down 8 modules

Therefore: 6-8 modules can be connected in a string.

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 Inverters: Sample
SMA, Sunny Boy 1.5/2.5 SMA, Sunny Central 800 CP

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 Reference
Kalogirou, Soteris, “Solar energy engineering : processes and
systems,”Elsevier, 2009.
Georg Hille, “Photovoltaic Systems,” Fraunhofer Institute for Solar
Energy Systems, Training material for the COMETT project.
ENERGY STAR Market and Industry Scooping Report: Solar
Inverters, US EPA, December 2013.
SMA Solar Technology AG product catalogue, www.sma.de

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