Integrated Inveter
Integrated Inveter
Application Report
Power Topology Considerations for Solar String Inverters
and Energy Storage Systems
Table of Contents
1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................................2
2 Solar String Inverters............................................................................................................................................................. 2
2.1 Power Stages for DC/DC MPPT........................................................................................................................................ 2
2.2 DC/AC Inverter Stage........................................................................................................................................................ 2
3 ESS Integration: Storage-ready Inverters............................................................................................................................ 4
3.1 DC/DC MPPT Power Stage............................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Bidirectional DC/DC Power Stage......................................................................................................................................6
3.3 Bidirectional Inverter/ PFC Power Stage............................................................................................................................6
4 Power Converter Topologies for DC/DC Power Stages...................................................................................................... 7
4.1 Synchronous and Interleaved Boost Converter................................................................................................................. 7
4.2 Phase-shifted Full Bridge (PSFB)...................................................................................................................................... 8
4.3 Resonant LLC Converter................................................................................................................................................... 9
4.4 CLLLC Converter............................................................................................................................................................. 10
4.5 Dual Active Bridge (DAB)................................................................................................................................................. 11
4.6 Active Clamped Current-fed Bridge................................................................................................................................. 12
4.7 Comparison of Topologies................................................................................................................................................13
5 Power Converter Topologies for DC/AC Stages................................................................................................................ 14
5.1 Two-level H-bridge Inverter.............................................................................................................................................. 14
5.2 Highly Efficient and Reliable Inverter Concept (HERIC).................................................................................................. 15
5.3 Three-level TNPC Inverter............................................................................................................................................... 16
5.4 Three-level NPC Inverter................................................................................................................................................. 17
5.5 Three-level ANPC Inverter............................................................................................................................................... 18
5.6 Summary of DC/AC Topologies....................................................................................................................................... 19
6 Future Technology and Trends............................................................................................................................................20
6.1 WBG Semiconductors......................................................................................................................................................20
6.2 Differential Power Processing.......................................................................................................................................... 20
7 Summary............................................................................................................................................................................... 22
8 References............................................................................................................................................................................ 23
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Introduction [Link]
1 Introduction
Solar string inverters are used to convert the DC power output from a string of solar panels to a usable AC
power. String inverters are commonly used in residential and commercial installations. Recent improvements in
semiconductor technology is allowing for string inverters with high power density (from 10s of kW to 100s of kW).
Due to modularity and ease of serviceability of string inverters, they are becoming a popular alternative over
central inverters.
The main limitation of solar installations is the supply and demand gap - solar energy is abundantly available
during peak day hours when the demand for energy is not high. So electrical energy generated from solar power
has low demand. This problem has spawned a new type of solar inverter with integrated energy storage. This
application report identifies and examines the most popular power topologies used in solar string inverters as
well as Power Conversion Systems (PCS) in Energy Storage Systems (ESS).
As Figure 2-1 illustrates, there are two major power blocks in the string inverter. The first is a DC/DC power
stage that converts the variable string output to a stable high-voltage DC link suitable for DC/AC inverter stage.
For a single phase power stage, it is typically 400 V and for three phase, around 800 V. This DC/DC stage also
works as a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) converter. This DC link voltage is converted to AC voltage at
the grid voltage level by the second block which is a DC/AC inverter power stage. A more detailed block diagram
of Solar String inverter is available on TI's String inverter applications page.
2.1 Power Stages for DC/DC MPPT
The MPPT DC/DC power stage performs the functions of translating the string voltage to a level suitable for the
inverter (typically 400 V for single phase and 800 V for three phase) and Maximum Power Point Tracking
(MPPT). The current trend is towards increasing this DC link voltage to 1000 V or beyond to reduce power
losses in the system and to allow more panels to be added in series. In certain cases, it will have two power
stages – a boost converter stage working as MPPT and an isolated DC/DC power stage to have safety isolation
between the grid and the solar panels and to reduce the DC link voltage variation. However, in most cases, all
these functions are performed by a single power stage – a non-isolated one in case there is no safety isolation
requirement or an isolated one if safety isolation is required.
The boost converter is the preferred non-isolated topology in string inverters. It will be more efficient to maintain
the DC link voltage higher than the highest voltage expected from the panel. A buck or buck-boost stage will be
less efficient due to the higher current to be supported with a lower DC link voltage. To increase power level and
to reduce ripple currents, interleaving of multiple boost power stages is done.
The isolated power stages used can be PWM-controlled full-bridge topologies (hard-switched, phase-shifted, or
dual active) or resonant topologies like LLC, CLLLC, and so forth. The trend is towards soft-switched topologies
that can accept relatively wider input voltage range. The dual active bridge with multiple phase controls is an
example.
2.2 DC/AC Inverter Stage
The inverter power stage performs the function of converting the DC link voltage to the grid AC voltage. This
inverter stage can be of two types depending on grid connectivity – if it is used for powering only an isolated grid
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(like only a building) on its own, it is called an off-grid inverter and if it connects to a larger grid sharing the load
from other sources, it is called a grid-tied inverter.
An off-grid inverter could be used as a back-up source or as a main power source, but while it is active, it is the
only source in the micro grid it powers. Therefore, this type of inverter need not have to address the burden of
synchronizing with other sources in the grid. They are used only in smaller capacity systems with lesser need to
communicate with other systems.
A grid-tied inverter has the additional task of synchronizing in amplitude, frequency, and phase with the existing
grid comprised of multiple sources and loads. It also needs to address the situation of detecting and isolating
itself from the grid in the event of any faults in the grid like black-out, brown-out, overvoltage, and so forth. This is
called anti-islanding protection. Grid-tied inverters tend to be of comparatively higher power than off-grid
inverters. Since there could be multiple grid-tied inverters in a typical application, the need for communication is
more important with them.
Various buck derived non-isolated topologies modulated with a sine PWM are used as inverters. These include
two-level H-bridge, HERIC, three-level TNPC, three-level NPC, and three-level ANPC.
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ESS Integration: Storage-ready Inverters [Link]
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[Link] ESS Integration: Storage-ready Inverters
The differences from a conventional grid-tied system are the addition of a battery, a bidirectional DC/DC power
stage to charge and discharge the battery, and the conversion of the inverter stage to a bidirectional inverter and
PFC stage. As far as power conversion is concerned, this trend towards local energy storage means an
increased focus on bidirectional power conversion stages. The major blocks in such a storage ready solar string
inverter is given in Figure 3-2.
DC/DC MPPT DC/AC Inverter
DC/AC Inverter
DC Bus
DC/AC Inverter
POWER STAGE POWER STAGE
Bidirectional DC/DC
+ POWER STAGE
±
Battery
Control MCU V/I Sensing
As Figure 3-2 illustrates, there are three major power blocks in this type of inverter. The first two stages do not
differ from those used in a string inverter without storage. These are the DC/DC MPPT power stage and the
DC/AC inverter. An additional DC/DC converter power stage charges a storage battery pack from this DC link.
Unlike the MPPT converter power stage, this needs to be a bidirectional power stage to enable it to convert the
stored energy in the battery pack to the DC link voltage. A more detailed block diagram of Energy Storage Power
Conversion System is available on TI's Energy storage power conversion system (PCS) applications page.
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ESS Integration: Storage-ready Inverters [Link]
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[Link] Power Converter Topologies for DC/DC Power Stages
loss distribution also gets improved compared to single- or paralleled-power stages. Figure 4-1 shows a two-
phase interleaved boost topology. For more detailed analysis of this topology, see Under the Hood of a
Multiphase Synchronous Rectified Boost Converter White Paper.
DC BUS
PANEL
Iin_sense
VBUS_sense
MCU
Vin_sense
3.3 V
LDO AUX POWER
A typical solar MPPT DC/DC power stage implementation using interleaved boost converter is discussed in the
Digitally Controlled HV Solar MPPT DC-DC Converter Using C2000™ Piccolo™ Microcontroller Application
Report. This topology being a unidirectional DC/DC topology is an option to consider for the DC/DC stage (see
Figure 3-1) between the solar panels and HV DC Bus.
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Power Converter Topologies for DC/DC Power Stages [Link]
+
±
Gate
DC BUS Gate Gate
Driver
Driver Driver
Current
Sense
Current
Sense
Voltage
Sense
Voltage BATTERY
Sense
Controller 12 V
3.3 V AUX
5V POWER
LDO
IS0-12 V
The power transfer between the primary and secondary is controlled by varying the phase between the switch
legs of the primary side bridge. With proper control, it is possible to obtain ZVS turn on of one leg and low
voltage turn on of the other leg, thus minimizing losses. The diodes on the secondary can experience hard
switching, resulting in more losses which can reduce the efficiency of this converter. This converter suffers non-
ZVS turn-on and turn-off at light load conditions. Because of this, burst mode operation is typically used to
maintain ZVS at light load conditions. Frequency dithering can be easily implemented to reduce the conducted
EMI signature in this topology. A DC blocking capacitor to block DC voltage offset saturating the transformer in
voltage mode control and an additional shim inductor to tune ZVS operation are required, making the converter
bulky.
For more detailed analysis of this topology, see the Phase-Shifted Full Bridge DC/DC Power Converter Design
Guide. TI's Phase-Shifted Full Bridge DC/DC Power Converter reference design explains the implementation of
this topology in a typical application. This topology being a unidirectional DC/DC topology is an option to
consider for the DC/DC stage (see Figure 3-1) between the solar panels and HV DC Bus.
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[Link] Power Converter Topologies for DC/DC Power Stages
+
±
DC BUS Gate Gate
Driver Driver
Current
Sense
Current Voltage
Sense Sense
Voltage BATTERY
Sense
Controller 12 V
AUX
3.3 V 5V
LDO POWER
IS0 - 12 V
Paralleling and synchronization of multiple LLC converter modules to increase the power output is difficult and
often requires complex control logic for safe operation. Implementation of synchronous rectification in LLC
converter quite tricky, especially in high output voltage designs (greater than 400 V). The ripple current and peak
voltage stress across the active and passive switching devices are significantly high. Higher output capacitance
is needed for handling high ripple current. Also the transformer of LLC converter is also comparatively higher in
size. These passive components significantly reduce the power density of the converter. Since this converter soft
switches during turn on and turn off, the EMI performance is comparatively better. The TI reference design Two
Phase Interleaved LLC Resonant Converter Reference Design Using C2000™ MCUs contains details on the
implementation of this converter. This DC/DC topology being unidirectional, is an option to consider for the
DC/DC stage (see Figure 3-1) between the solar panels and HV DC Bus.
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Voltage BATTERY
Sense
Controller 12 V
3.3 V AUX
5V POWER
LDO
IS0-12 V
This converter can be used at higher power levels up to 10 kW. But scaling to higher power levels and paralleling
can be difficult, as it requires a highly symmetrical tank structure and synchronization of multiple modules can be
quite difficult. Also this converter, with capacitors in the primary and secondary side of the transformer, naturally
prevents saturation over time of the core of the transformer. Similar to the LLC converter, this topology also gives
superior EMI performance due to its soft switching characteristics.
The TI reference design Bidirectional CLLLC resonant dual active bridge (DAB) reference design for HEV/EV
onboard charger contains details on the implementation of this converter. This topology being a bidirectional
DC/DC topology is an option to consider for the bidirectional DC/DC stage (see Figure 3-1) between the Battery
Management System and HV DC Bus.
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Voltage BATTERY
Sense
Controller 12 V
AUX
3.3 V 5V
LDO POWER
IS0-12 V
The control scheme of the DAB ranges from simple (or single phase shift modulation) to complex (for extended,
dual and triple phase shift modulation). This topology can be used to cover wide variation of battery voltages
with single phase shift modulation but circulating currents in the transformer increase which drastically reduces
efficiency. But with advanced modulation schemes like triple phase shift, the converter can theoretically achieve
ZVS efficiently over the entire operating range. Since transformer utilization is high for this topology, the size of
transformer required to deliver same amount of output power is relatively smaller. The output capacitor needed
to handle the ripple current is also low for this converter. This converter with relatively fewer number of devices,
soft-switching commutations, low cost, and high efficiency is used in applications where the power density, cost,
weight, isolation and reliability are critical factors. One limiting feature is that the converter often requires an
additional shim inductor which is needed for tuning ZVS operation that can make the converter bulky.
The TI reference design Bi-directional, dual active bridge reference design for level 3 electric vehicle charging
stations contains details on the implementation of this converter. This topology being a bidirectional DC/DC
topology, can be used for the bidirectional DC/DC stage (see Figure 3-1) between the Battery Management
System and HV DC Bus.
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Power Converter Topologies for DC/DC Power Stages [Link]
Current
Sense
Current Voltage
Voltage Sense Sense
Sense
Controller
3.3 V 5V BATTERY
LDO AUX
POWER
12 V IS0-12 V
While charging the battery, phase shift control is used similar to the PSFB circuit discussed earlier. With
sufficient leakage inductance in the transformer, the circuit can achieve ZVS on the HV and LV side MOSFETs.
While discharging battery, the circuit transforms to a current-fed bridge topology, which is nothing but an isolated
boost converter. To achieve ZVS, an active clamp circuit consisting of a capacitor and a MOSFET is used.
Simple fixed frequency duty cycle control is used in this mode. The simple control method is the biggest
advantage of this topology - fixed frequency phase shift control while charging and fixed frequency duty cycle
control while discharging. Soft switching is achieved without much effort in either direction. Low di/dt on the HV
side MOSFETs allows the use of Silicon devices (with relatively faster body diodes), reducing system cost.
However, the conduction losses are higher due to the relatively large clamp circuit current, reducing the
efficiency somewhat. It will also need low power start-up winding on the boost inductor for safe start-up. Still, it is
considered to be a lower cost option for the bidirectional DC/DC stage (see Figure 3-1) between the Battery
Management System and HV DC Bus.
The TI reference design 2kW, 48V to 400V, >93% Efficiency, Isolated Bidirectional DC-DC Converter Reference
Design for UPS contains details on the implementation of this converter.
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Turn OFF High (Hard High Low on Low on High (device High on
switching loss Switching) primary side; primary side; turn off at high primary side;
secondary secondary current) low on
side turn off is side turn off is secondary
ZCS ZCS side
Wide panel Yes Yes (with No, needs Limited range Yes (with Yes
Voltage, Fixed reduced additional reduced
Bus Voltage efficiency) DC/DC stage efficiency)
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Power Converter Topologies for DC/AC Stages [Link]
S1
Si
FET
S3
Gate Driver
DC BUS AC
S4
S2
Current Voltage
Sense Sense
Si
FET
Gate Driver
DC BUS
IAC_sense
VBUS_sense
Controller
3.3 V VAC_sense
Aux. Power LDO
The current flows only through two switches at a time. S1/S2 are driven synchronously with complimentary PWM
signals and the S3/S4 on the slow line frequency legs can be low RDS(on) Si MOSFETs to further reduce
conduction loss. The two level H-bridge is inherently capable of bidirectional operation (in opposite direction, it
works as a totem-pole PFC), which is ideal for ESS integrated string inverters. Since switching is only between
two levels (either VDC or zero), the harmonic distortion of the generated voltage waveform can be relatively
higher. Another disadvantage is that with silicon MOSFETs, the totem-pole arrangement allows operating in only
discontinuous-conduction mode (DCM) or critical-conduction mode (CrM) because if continuous-conduction
mode (CCM) is allowed, the reverse recovery of the MOSFET body diodes (which is much higher than that of
standard fast-recovery diodes) can cause excessive losses. So typically IGBTs are used with only moderately
high switching frequencies (below 25 kHz) when CCM operation is required. However, with the advent of silicon
carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) switching devices with zero-recovery reverse conduction has made it
possible to operate in CCM operation even at high switching frequencies.
This topology is demonstrated in the TI reference designs C2000™ Solar DC/AC Single Phase Inverter and
Single-Phase Inverter Reference Design with Voltage Source and Grid Connected Modes. Even though a two
level H-bridge can give only a single phase output, a full three arm bridge can give three phase output as
demonstrated in the TI reference design Three-Phase Inverter Reference Design Using Gate Driver With Built-in
Dead Time Insertion. This bidirectional DC/AC topology is an option to consider for the bidirectional DC/AC
stage (see Figure 3-1) between the HV DC Bus and the AC Bus in a storage ready solar inverter.
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S3 S1
DC BUS S5 S6 AC
S4
S2
Gate driver
Gate driver
DC BUS
IAC_sense
VBUS_sense
Controller
VAC_sense
Flyback LDO/buck
The converter operates as follows: During the positive half-cycle of the grid voltage S5 is kept ON, S1 and S4
are switched simultaneously at the switching frequency, supplying a positive voltage to the load, while S2, S3
and S6 are OFF. During this time (positive active vector) current flows from the DC input to the grid. When zero
vector (freewheeling period) occurs, S1 and S4 also are switched OFF and the current flows through S5 and
anti-parallel diode of S6. During the negative half-cycle of the grid voltage, S6 is kept ON, while S2 and S3 are
switched together at the switching frequency, while S1, S4 and S5 are OFF. During this period (negative active
vector) the current flows from the DC input to the grid in opposite direction. When zero vector (freewheeling
period) occurs, S2 and S3 also turn OFF, and current freewheels through S6 and anti-parallel diode of S5. As
can be seen from this operation, the body diodes of S1 to S4 do not come into operation at all and hence we can
use Si MOSFETs for these and switch them at relatively higher frequency. Since the switches S5 and S6 are
switching only at line frequency, we can use IGBTs (their anti-parallel diodes need to be ultra-fast though).
Since we are able to achieve three level switching (positive vector, zero vector and negative vector) low
distortion can be achieved on the output. The TNPC inverter is an extension of the HERIC topology. This DC/AC
topology being bidirectional, is an option to consider for the bidirectional DC/AC stage (see Figure 3-1) between
the HV DC Bus and the AC Bus in a storage ready solar inverters.
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Power Converter Topologies for DC/AC Stages [Link]
S5 S6 R
DC BUS
AC
N S5 S6 Y
S5 S6 B
S4
S2 S2
V-
DC BUS
Gate Driver Gate Driver Gate Driver Gate Driver Gate Driver Gate Driver Current Voltage
sense sense
Flyback
Voltage
sense IL_sense
LDO/Buck
Controller
VBUS_sense VAC_sense
While the conduction losses are significantly lower when compared with NPC, the switching losses are high due
to the devices blocking full dc link voltage. Due to limited component count and better conduction losses
compared to NPC topology, the TNPC topology is best suited for applications up to 40-kHz switching frequency;
beyond which the NPC topology performs better. One of the drawbacks of this topology is the high peak voltage
stress across the high voltage blocking FETs. The TI reference design 10kW 3-phase 3-level T-type inverter
reference design for solar string inverter demonstrates the implementation of an inverter and the TI reference
design Three-level, three-phase SiC AC-to-DC converter reference design demonstrates the implementation of a
PFC stage of this type of power stage. This DC/AC topology being bidirectional, is an option to consider for the
bidirectional DC/AC stage (see Figure 3-1) between the HV DC Bus and the AC Bus in a storage ready solar
inverters.
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R
DC BUS
Y
AC
N
B
CURRENT
SENSE
R Y B
V+ V-
VOLTAGE
CONTROLLER SENSE
V- VOLTAGE
SENSE
GATE GATE GATE
DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE
Since only half of the voltage has to be switched, the switching losses in the transistor get reduced by half. In the
NPC topology shown, it is possible to use 600-V components instead of 1200-V types. The 600-V technology
has much faster components than are available in 1200-V technology. This will lead to further reduction in
switching losses. This topology has lower ripple in the output current and only half of the output voltage
transient. This will reduce the effort for filtering and isolation in the filter inductor. Hence we can achieve high
power density with less inductance needed to maintain harmonic distortion in output. Multilevel inverters not only
generate the output voltages with very low distortion, but also can minimize the dv/dt stresses across devices
thereby reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI). This topology also offers bidirectional transfer of power and
is the preferred choice for switching frequencies higher than 50 kHz due to lower switching losses and better
efficiency. One drawback of the NPC topology is the high number of power semiconductor switches needed.
Even though lower voltage rated devices can be used in a multilevel converter, each of the switches needs a
gate drive circuit. This topology makes up for the complexity in its implementation by improved power density,
higher efficiency as well as overall reduced system cost that comes from design of smaller size magnetics/
passive components and fewer cooling needs. As this topology uses both controlled switches and diodes, the
loss distribution is unsymmetrical and hence thermal management can be quite challenging. This topology being
a bidirectional DC/AC topology is an option to consider for the bidirectional DC/AC stage (see Figure 3-1)
between the HV DC Bus and the AC Bus in a storage ready solar inverters.
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Power Converter Topologies for DC/AC Stages [Link]
DC BUS Y
AC
N
B
MCU V SENSE
Driver Driver Driver VOLTAGE
ISOLATOR ISOLATOR ISOLATOR ISOLATOR ISOLATOR ISOLATOR SENSE
GaN Power Stage GaN Power Stage GaN Power Stage
V-
The major drawback of this topology is the number of controlled switches to be addressed. In a three phase
application, a total of 18 switches are required to be controlled by individual PWMs. Use of advanced smart
switching schemes can help reduce the number of PWMs to a third, if implemented wisely. Each of the 18
switches would also need a gate driver, and that could also be cut to half by use of dual-channel gate drivers.
This topology makes up for the complexity in its implementation by improved power density, higher efficiency as
well as overall reduced system cost that comes from design of smaller size magnetics/passive components and
fewer cooling needs. This bidirectional DC/AC topology is an option to consider for the bidirectional DC/AC stage
(see Figure 3-1) between the HV DC Bus and the AC Bus in a storage ready solar inverters.
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[Link] Power Converter Topologies for DC/AC Stages
Efficiency Low High High High (at high High (at high
frequency) frequency)
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Future Technology and Trends [Link]
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[Link] Future Technology and Trends
increases cost. An alternate to this is called the Differential Power Processing (DPP) method, one type of
implementation of which is shown in Figure 6-1.
Switched Inductor
Istring
Q1
L
+
Q2
PV1
±
DPP
IDPP_2 +
+
+
or
[Link]-Cap
PV2
Vbias
±
±
DPP3
+ IDPP_3 Q1
±
PV3
R
Q2
±
Q3 C
Q4
In DPP converters, only the difference in power between adjacent panels needs to be processed by it. This
reduces power conversion losses compared to the FPP method and also results in reduced cost of the system.
There are multiple ways of implementing a DPP architecture like PV connected to bus (PV-bus), PV connected
to PV (PV-PV), and PV connected to an isolated port (PV-IP). These architectures are those commonly used
with active cell balancing in battery packs. PV-bus architecture is commonly used with lower string voltages. The
PV-PV DPP converters have more potential for scalability than the PV-bus architecture, and hence are more
suited for higher string voltages. Figure 6-1 shows the PV-PV architecture. It has the additional advantage of
using only non-isolated topologies and hence are of comparatively lower cost.
The main stumbling block for acceptance of DPP is its higher cost compared to the unoptimized series string due
to the increased number of components. However, The cost of DPP is lower than FPP and hence is preferable
when individual panel power optimization is a requirement. Compared to FPP, the control of DPP is complex, as
the MPPT algorithm needs to be a distributed one. Though it provides more watts per dollar over its lifetime
compared to other architectures, the upfront cost and system complexity currently limits the use of DPP
architecture in string inverters. As semiconductor technology continues to reduce the overall system cost year-
over-year, there is a good chance that DPP could start becoming economically viable in the years to come.
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Summary [Link]
7 Summary
The ultimate choice of a power topology boils down to the intended use case of that specific power converter
block, namely the input and output parameters, the targeted power levels, efficiency and power density targets to
name a few. While high power 3-phase commercial inverters would look at complex multilevel three-phase PFC
stage and DC-DC stage to pack more-and-more power into them, the single phase residential inverters could be
addressed by a simple 2-level H-bridge type PFC stage followed by a LLC DC/DC stage. With storage ready
inverters becoming more commonplace, engineers may have to limit their Inverter and DC/DC topology choices
to those that support bidirectional power transfer (such as TNPC, ANPC, DAB, and CLLLC between the local
battery pack and the Grid.
No matter your choice of use case, the advancement in the field of power electronics in tandem with
semiconductor technology is ready to offer everything you need to build your next generation storage ready solar
inverter or a stand-alone energy storage system.
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[Link] References
8 References
1. Texas Instruments, Under the Hood of a Multiphase Synchronous Rectified Boost Converter White Paper
2. Texas Instruments, Digitally Controlled HV Solar MPPT DC-DC Converter Using C2000™ Piccolo™
Microcontroller Application Report
3. Texas Instruments, Phase-Shifted Full Bridge DC/DC Power Converter Design Guide
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SLLA498 – OCTOBER 2020 Power Topology Considerations for Solar String Inverters and Energy Storage 23
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