A Novel Single Phase Three Level Triple Boost CG Switched-Capacitor Based Grid-Connected Transformerless PV Inverter

Abstract

A new three-level inverter based on the switched capacitor (SC) with a common grounding (CG) configuration has been introduced in this article, which is capable of boosting the input voltage up to three times. Therefore, this inverter is configured without any boost dc/dc converter stage for low voltage PV application. To step up the input PV voltage and facilitate three level in output voltage, two SC cells are connected in parallel. This inverter's common grounding configuration helps in bypassing the stray capacitance, which eliminates the leakage current and consequently reduces electro-magnetic interference (EMI) considerably. Hence, for electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC), this inverter does not require any EMI filter. Additionally, this inverter handles reactive power during the grid's lagging/leading power factor (pf) condition. A proportional resonant (PR) current controller is designed to regulate active and reactive grid power. The proposed modulation strategy helps in balancing capacitor voltages at their base values with allowable ripple. The inverter circuit details, control technique, PWM scheme, thermal modeling, and loss analysis with component design guidelines are described in detail. Experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of this proposed inverter.