Presented by
[Link] A. Esmail
Lecturer – Faculty of Tec. Ind. & Energy
Delta Technological University
Course Hours:
Unit Title Renewable Energy Technology
Unit Code REN213 Total Lec. Tut Lab/WS Practice
Credit hours 3 5 2 0 2 1
Types of PV Systems
Off grid PV system
used in isolated system
where the Inverter is fed
from battery bank.
On grid PV system.
The inverter is connected to the electricity grid.
Feed power in the grid by
matching the phase
& Frequency of the
O/P power with the
utility supplied ac.
Designed to automatically
shut down after sensing loss
of power supply from the utility.
Battery Back Up <hybrid >
Especially designed to draw
the energy from the battery.
The battery charge is maintained
by using an onboard Charger and the
extra energy is exported to the grid.
Having the capacity of supplying AC
power to selected load during
power outages .
Having an anti-islanding property .
charge controller
A PV charge controller prevents overcharge by reducing the flow of energy to
your battery once it reaches a certain voltage
types of charge controllers
Shunt Regulator.
Series Regulator.
PWM Regulator.
MPPT Charge Controller
Shunt regulators function by short circuiting the solar array when the
battery reaches a set voltage. When the battery voltage drops, the array is
un-shorted and current is allowed to flow to the battery again.
Shunt regulators are generally solid-state and contain a blocking diode and
a transistor. The solar array is shorted by a transistor (or relay) and the
blocking diode prevents the battery from being shorted at the same time.
Shunt regulators are generally for negatively grounded systems only as the
block diode is usually in the positive line
Series regulators function by open circuiting the solar
array when the battery reaches a set voltage. When the battery
voltage drops, the array is reconnected and current is allowed
to flow to the battery again.
Series regulators generally use a relay or transistor to connect
and disconnect the solar array. As the relay (or transistor) can
be placed in either the positive or negative line, Series
regulators can be used in positive and negative ground systems
PWM regulators are similar to series regulators, but they use a transistor
instead of a relay to open the array. By switching the transistor at high frequency
with various modulated widths, a constant voltage can be maintained. The PWM
regulator self-adjusts by varying the widths (lengths) and speed of the pulses
sent to the battery. Unlike the on/off charge controllers which instantaneously
cut off the power transfer to minimize battery overcharging, PWM regulators act
like a rapid on/off controller constantly.
MPPT charge controllers can vary the charge current to the battery, the
regulator can be a multi-stage charger with bulk, absorption, and float settings.
They are always solid state; this means heat dissipation can become a problem,
especially in larger solar arrays. MPPT controllers are typically step-down
converters, so the array voltage always needs to be higher than the battery
voltage. Therefore, an array voltage value less than the battery voltage during
normal operation would indicate a problem
solar battery
A battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy by a chemical reaction.
Usually the chemicals are kept inside the battery. It is used in a circuit to power
other components. A battery produces direct current (DC) electricity (electricity
that flows in one direction).
battery is a device that stores chemical energy and converts it to electrical
energy.
Solar battery types
there are two common options: lithium-ion and lead-acid. Solar panel
companies prefer lithium-ion batteries because they can store more energy,
hold that energy longer than other batteries, and have a higher Depth of
Discharge
Inverter
Inverter is the device which converts DC into AC is known as Inverter. Most of
the commercial, industrial, and residential loads require Alternating Current
(AC) sources. One of the main problems with AC sources is that they cannot
be stored in batteries where storage is important for backup power. This flaw
can be overcome by direct current sources. Alternating current is converted
into direct current (DC) for storage purposes. The polarity of DC sources
doesn’t change with time like AC sources so, DC can be stored in
batteries and ultra-capacitors. Whenever AC is required to run AC appliances,
then DC is converted back into AC to run AC appliances
Different Types of Inverters
Inverters are classified into many different categories based on the applied input source,
connection wise, output voltage wise etc. In this article, we will see some of the
categories.
Input Source Classification
Voltage Source Inverter (VSI)
* A voltage source inverter or VSI is a device that converts unidirectional voltage waveform
into a bidirectional voltage waveform, in other words, it is a converter that converts its
voltage from DC form to AC form. An ideal voltage source inverter keeps the voltage
constant through-out the process.
* VSI is mainly used to convert a constant DC
voltage into an AC voltage with variable
magnitude and frequency
Current Source Inverter (CSI)
Current Source Inverter is a type of inverter circuit that changes the dc current at its input
into equivalent ac current. It is abbreviated as CSI and sometimes called a current fed
inverter. Here the input provided to the circuit is a stiff dc current source rather than dc
voltage source
Output Phase Classification
Single Phase Inverters
A single-phase inverter converts DC input into Single phase output. The output
voltage/current of single-phase inverter has exactly one phase which has a nominal
frequency of 50HZ or 60Hz a nominal voltage. The Nominal voltage is defined as the
voltage level at which Electrical system operates. There are different nominal voltages i.e.
120V, 220V, 440V, 690V
Single-phase inverters are used for low loads. There are more losses in single-phase as
well as the efficiency of single-phase is low with respect to three-phase inverter.
Therefore, 3 phase inverters are preferred for high loads
three-phase inverter
A 3 phase inverter is used to convert a DC i/p into an AC output. It includes three arms
which are usually delayed through 120° of an angle to produce a 3 phase AC supply.
Output Voltage Classification
Square Wave Inverters
These are the simplest inverters which convert DC into AC but the output wave form is not
pure sinusoidal which is required. These inverters have square wave at the output. In other
words, these inverters convert the DC input into AC in the form of square wave. At the same
time, square wave inverters are cheaper too.
Quasi Sine Wave Inverter
Quasi (or modified) sine wave inverters take a 12V DC power source and closely
approximate the shape of the AC waveform that you get from your household electrical
sockets, meaning that they can operate about 95% of 240V AC powered equipment
Pure Sine Wave Inverter
Pure sine wave inverters are good at two things: efficiently powering devices that use AC, and
powering devices like radios that can suffer from interference. But, they can be expensive.
Number of Voltage Level Classification
Based on the number of output levels inverters are classified into two categories. The
number of output levels of any inverter can be at least two or more than two. Both
categories are discussed here briefly.
Two-Level Inverter
Inverters categorized in this category have two output levels. The output voltage
alternated between positive and negative. These voltages alternates with a fundamental
frequency (50HZ or 60hz). Some so called “two-level inverters” have three levels in their
output waveform. The reason for categorizing three-level inverters in this category is
because these are in fact two levels with an extra zero voltage level. Practically zero is a 3rd
level but it is still categorized in two level inverters.
Multilevel Inverter (MLI)
Multilevel inverters convert the DC signal into multilevel staircase waveform. The
output waveform of multilevel inverter does not alternate between positive and
negative directly but in multi steps. As the smoothness of the waveform is directly
proportional to the number of voltage levels. Therefore, multi level inverter will
generate a much smoother wave. This property of smaller steps makes it useable for
practical applications as discussed previously. The comparison of multilevel inverter
with two level inverters can be seen in the table.
Two level
Parameters Multilevel Inverters
Inverters
Number of output Levels 2 or 3 More than 3
Low output
Output voltage High output voltage
voltage
Voltage regulation Not adjustable Adjustable voltage regulation
Harmonics Higher Lower
Efficiency Low High
Advantages of Multi-level Inverter
* Better voltage waveform: using multilevel inverter, one can achieve better voltage
waveform.
** Switching frequency can be reduced further for the PWM operation.
*** High voltage using low rating devices: using multilevel inverter, high AC voltage can be
generated using low voltage rating devices.
**** Reduce the filter size because the wave generated by multilevel inverter is near to a
required sinusoidal wave so there will be a smaller number of harmonics.
*****Better power Quality: Multi level inverters provide relatively better power quality.
****** Low switching losses: losses are directly proportional to frequency.
Low THD: As the output wave become smoother, the total harmonic distortion reduces.,
total harmonic distortion (THD or THDi) the THD reduces