2014 Power and Energy Systems: Towards Sustainable Energy (PESTSE 2014)

Transformer Less FPGA Controlled 2-Stage Isolated

Grid Connected PV System
Dogga Raveendhra, Saad Faruqui and Parvesh Saini
EEE Department,
Graphic Era University,
Dehradun, India-248001.
Corresponding author :doggaravi09@gmail.com

Abstract--

In

this

proposed

study,

Transformerless

FPGA

Controlled 2-Stage PV System is proposed for 3-phase electrical

power generation. In this present scheme, to get AC power, power
conditioning has been proposed in two stages; namely in first stage
maximum power will be extracted and in second stage DC power
will be converted into AC power.

In this research paper

conversion topology has been proposed for transformer less PV

system and verified its results in MATLAB Simulink which is
interfaced with Xilinx system generator. To extract optimum DC
power

from

solar

PV

modules

MPPT

charge

controller

is

system where the owner tries to get the maximum system

profitability. Issues such as reliability, high efficiency, small
size and weight and low price are of great importance to the
conversion stage of the photovoitaic system. Often, these PV
systems include a line transformer in the power conversion
stage, which guarantees galvanic isolation between the load and
the PV system thus providing protection. As it strongly reduce
the leakage current between the photovoltaic system and the
ground.

designed. In this study, constant voltage MPPT charge controller

is designed based on small signal analysis of converter with
PM=57 and GM=14.7dB. After this charge controller output fed
to Multi level inverter for the conversion of dc to ac. Proposed
multilevel

inverter

is

offering

very

low

line

voltage

THDs

compared with conventional inverter and observed that they are

very low, hence required less size and cost of the filter.

Fossil
fuels

Keywords-- PV System; Solar PV System; FPGA; MPPT charge

controlle; Boost Converter;3-Level inverter; Diode clamped multi
level inverter.

I. INTRODUCTION
Renewable energy as the name suggests the energy available
again and again for the utilization. Interest of using renewable
energy has boost up in past few years in order to decrease the
burden on fossil fuels to generate electrical energy [1].
Most renewable energy comes in - directly or directly from
the sun. Sunlight can be used directly for lightning homes and
large buildings and also used for heating purpose and solar
energy for the generation of electricity, for heating of water and
a variety of industrial and commercial use. Solar cells convert
sunlight into electricity, which can be used in rural areas as a
source of electricity. Solar cells are in used calculators as a
power source and it is also used in watches. Solar cells are made
up of semiconducting material which is similar to those used in
computer chips. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials,
the solar energy energizes electrons loose from atoms and
allowing the electrons to flow through the cell to produce
electricity. This process of converting light (photon) to
electricity (voltage) is called photovoitaic (PV) effect.
Solar cells are combined together into modules that hold
about a number of cells. Modules created by joining the solar
cells forming a array, that are placed in the photovoltaic array
that trap sunlight on all sides. Several united photovoitaic arrays
generate enough electricity for a residential load, for large
electricity utility or industrial applications, a large number of
arrays can be united to form a single large photovoltaic system.
Photovoltaic systems particularly single phase systems are
becoming more important worldwide. They are usually private

978-1-4799-3421-8/14/$3l.00 2014 IEEE

N uclea r
3%

Renewabl
es
19%

Fig. 1 Worldwide electricity energy consumption

From the Fig. 1 we can observe that the energy production from
solar photovoitaic is low. But there is reduction in the energy
production by fossil fuels. The two main topologies have been
stated in the photovoltaic system i.e. with and without the
galvanic isolation. The main aim of the galvanic isolation is to
offer safety for the user, but this decreases the overall
efficiency of the system. In the case of the Transformer less
system the efficiency of the system raises up. The most
important advantage of the Transformer less system is that it
offers higher efficiency, smaller in size and petite in weight as
compared to system with transformer. [2]
The differences between standard or conventional inverters and
Transformer less inverters are:
Conventional inverters are built with an internal transformer
that synchronizes the DC voltage with the AC output.

I
--

Transfonnerless (TL) inverters use a computerized multi-step

process and electronic components to convert DC to high
frequency AC, back to DC, and ultimately to standard
frequency AC.
Comparison between Transfonner and [1, 3, 4]
Transformer less inverter:-

Iph

Ir

Rs

Rsh

table I companslOn between trans ormer and tans ormer ess

Parameters
Sensitivity
Distortion
Low
frequency
reproduction
Noise immunity
Cable drive

Id

Diode

Transformer
Lower
Higher
Less precise

Transformerless
Higher
Lower
Good

Higher
Longer

Lower
Shorter

Current
Source

Fig. 3 Equivalent circuit of a solar cell

f... v(Amp) & v (V)are the module output current and voltage.
Operating equation of the PV module

II.PROPOSED TOPOLOGY
Fig.2 shows the block diagram of the proposed transformerless
system which consists of two stages. In this system a solar
array has been constructed in matlab by combining it into series
and parallel combinations. As we now the output of solar cell is
variable so we have deployed a DC-DC converter which
converts variable DC into fixed DC, this is done in first stage.
In second stage DC is converted into AC which will be utilized
by the appliances.

VARIABLE
DC

CONTROLLED
DC
DC.DC
CONVERTER

)----+)

INVERTER

PV Module

The heart of every PV system is the array of photovoltaic

modules. Today, the overwhelming maiority of PV modules
(more than 95%) are crystalline silicon, made from the second
most abundant element on earth. A PV module converting light
into electricity can be modeled as a single diode model.
Relationship among the different current and voltages of the
equivalents circuit model of PV module. [5]

Z' !!l ) - j! v = 0
+ .!l = 0

J)

"g= Light Generated current.

lD = Diode current.
, = Diode voltage.
re (n) = Shunt Resistance.
R (n) = Series Resistance.

Boost Converter based MPPT Charge controller

DC-DC Boost converter is used to magnify the voltage from

PV to a suitable form of energy accepted by the load. Boost
converter is a second order system consists of an inductor, a
capacitor, a diode, and with the load resistance connected in
parallel with the capacitor. As the output from PV is not
constant due to the ambient temperature and environmental
condition, the modeling of such converter is crucial. [6]
L
rv"V"V">.

Fig. 2 Block diagram of the proposed system

lr r

B.

AC

24'S
CELLS
1050W

A.

f t(Amp) is the PV module saturation current. Temperature

(T) in Kelvin is the temperature of the PV module. The panel is
operated usually or near maximum power point for optimum
perfonnance of the system.

(1)
(2)

--

..

.....

SWITCH
Vi

==C

Vo

....J",,"

Fig. 4 Boost converter

A DC-DC boost converter can be modeled based on the

knowledge about PV voltage. DC-DC converters are dynamical
systems with highly nonlinear behavior. [7] The use of
semiconductor devices as a switch makes the system non
linear. Moreover, the parasitic capacitances and inductances of
the switches produce nonlinear phenomena of the converter
built up by these power electronic components. In DC-DC
converters, load fluctuation behaves as disturbances to the
system. As such, the system is non-linear in nature and cannot
be easily solved analytically using Laplace transform.
Therefore, the utilization of powerful computer aided design

package is required. Boost converter steps up the voltage

[8].The basic ethic of a DC-DC converter consists of 2
categories

First the On-state, when the switch S is closed, it

results in the increase in the current flowing through
the inductor.
Second the Off-state, when the switch S is open and
the path offered to the current flowing through the
inductor is through the diode D, the resistance R and
the capacitor C. Which results in transferring the
energy acquire during the On-state into the capacitor.
*

cl

increase the level of the proposed topology transistors, diodes

and DC source are to be added [13-14].
The main advantage of this inverter topology is that the centre
of the DC link is connected to the neutral of the load. This
results in the decrement of the ground leakage current.
Lb
Db

Cp
Qb

Cl

(4)
(5)

toniL=Lli
*
:.11 / L =Lli

cl- i

-.JoCp

i is the current flowing through the inductor.

m -

-,., .)

.,

=0

This can be rearranged as

If

-.-.
ret;
" .-i
f' _
and for a lossless circuit the power balance ensures
.

L . 1 - )
m

(6)
(7)

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is a technique that is

used to get the maximum power from one or more photovoltaic
(PV) devices, typically solar panel. Solar cells have a typical
relation between solar irradiation, temperature and total
resistance that produces a non-linear output efficiency which
can be analyzed by the I-V curve. The purpose of the MPPT
system is to sample the output of the cells and apply proper
resistance to obtain maximum power for any given
environmental conditions. [9]
C.

Fig. 5 Boost converter and neutral point clamped inverter

(8)

III.SIMULAnON
In this section simulation results of the proposed system are
shown. The output of the solar photovoltaic module depends on
the irradiation of sunlight and the temperature of the sunlight
which affects the generated output voltage and current.

Neutral Point Clamped Inverter

The most commonly used multilevel topology is the diode

clamped inverter, in which the diode is used as the clamped
device to grip the dc bus voltage so as to attain steps in the
output voltage. Fig. 2 shows the proposed topology i.e. neutral
point clamped inverter with the boost converter[10].A neutral
point clamped (NPC) inverter system has a DC power and an
NPC inverter having a neutral point connected to the positive
and negative poles of the DC power source to convert the DC
voltage into AC voltage characterized in that first and second
branch means having a switching element provided between the
positive and negative poles sides of the DC power source and
the neutral point of the NPC inverter, and control means for
turning the switching elements of the second and first branch
on when short-circuit current of the NPC inverter flow through
the neutral point of the NPC inverter. [11]
As the size of the fIlter is large it makes the system bulky and
heavy. Leading to high cost. To reduce the size of the fIlter a
neutral point clamped inverter topology is used[12]. The upper
two semiconductors are switched on simultaneously giving a
positive voltage at the output of the inverter terminal. In the
same way a negative voltage will be developed by at the output
of the inverter by switching on the lower two semiconductor,
and a zero voltage is developed by switching the switches. To

SolarPVArraYlIitb
MPPIrhargerontroUer

Fig. 6 Simulink block diagram of proposed system

In Fig.7(a) the graph represents the change in the ambient

temperature at the input of the solar PV module. In Fig. 7(b) the
graph represents the change in irradiation at the input of the
solar PV module.
From these input the corresponding output voltage and current
in solar PV module are shown in Fig.8(a)&Fig.8(b)
respectively.

Clirnalical changes in Ternperalure

,----,---,-----,

The converter proposed in this research paper is boost

converter. Fig.9 depicts the frequency response of the closed
loop boost converter.

lI5

BooeD.gram

40

,-,-n_-,_nr_,-,TTIT--;..-.-.,TTIl SyslelT[ unllle<!l

Gail Margil (dB): 7

AI frequency (r,d/sec): 8.11e+ij04

C.sed Loop SI,b.? Yes
-- --- - - - - - - - - - - -

20

III
-20

--------
0.01
0.02
o
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
01)7
0.08
0.111
0.1

lime(sec)

(a) Temperature

4 0 L-LLUliil__LLli
__L_LLil__L
405 ,-,-

JaO
n_-,_nr__=-,TTIT--TTIT,___,-,."

315
270---

Clirnalical ClIDjes in Temperalure

225

I r---'----'--_'---

Sysle-m lIfllttlO-O1 - - --- - - - - - - - - - - -

-------

180

PIl8SeMargil (deg): 57.5

135

1050

90
10

'!:1040

'

10

'

10

'

10

,.. _ . ......

'
,_

I AI

DeoyMargo (sec): 7.9ge-005

frequency (rad/sec): 1.26e+ij04

C.sed Loop Slab.? Yes

10

'

10

Fig. 9 Frequency response of closed loop boost converter

""

030

Charge Controller 0 utput Voltage

1020
1010
om

0.02

0.03

0.05

0.04

]me(sec)

0.06

0.07

0.08

0.09

0.1

(b) Irradiance
Fig. 7 Input parameters of

o --------------------------
o
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2

SPY module

Fig. 10 Charge controller output voltage waveform

Currenl from solar PV Mooule

10 ,---,---,---,---,---,---,---,----,---,----,

[3

I nverter I nput Voltage

o --------------------------
o
0.05
0.1
0.1 5
O L--------L--
o
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
O. I

Fig. II Inverter input voltage waveform

]me(sec)

(a) Output current (Ipv)

Solar PV Mooule VollagelV p,l

r---,---,----,--r---,--V-
40

=
'"

30
25
20

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

]me(sec)

0.06

0.07

0.08

(b) Output voltage (Ypv)

Fig. 8 Output voltage and current of SPY module

0.09

0.1

Fig.II shows the input voltage which is fed to the

three level inverter.

'

Line AB -Voltage

Fig.12 shows the gate pulses waveform which is generated by

FPGA for solar PV system fed three level inverter. Sinusoidal
pulse width modulation technique was used to generate pulses
in FPGA.

500
..

o
-500

APhase Voltage

..

400 r------.----___.

Line B C-Voltage
500

200

-500

200

Line CA-Voltage

.400 L......-

500

-'---__----L.__
...
----I.---I

__

B Phase Voltage

400 ....-----.--,.---"""T""""1
0.05

200

0.1

0.15

Fig.14 Line voltage waveforms

Phase voltages, line to line voltages, line current are shown in

Fig. 13, Fig. 14, and Fig. 15.

Line Current

200
.400 L......-

-'---__----L.__
...
----I.---I

__

[Phase Voltage
400 r------r-----""'T'""""'"I
o

200

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.1 2

0.14

0.16

Fig.IS Line current wavefonn

Line Current after Filter

200
.400 L......o

__

---I.__
...----'-___.....L...

0.05

0.1

0.15

1
o

Fig. 13 Phase voltage wavefonns

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

Fig.16 Line current after filtering waveform

0.14

0.16

REFERENCES

Line Voltage AB

[II

. ... .... .. .

500

Y. Xue, K. e. Divya, G. Griepentrog, M. Liviu, S. Suresh, and M.

Manjrekar, "Towards next generation photovoltaic inverters," in

Froc.

iEEE Energy Converso Congr. Expo., 2011, pp. 2467-2474.

[21

Kerekes, T.; Teodorescu, R.; Rodriguez, P.; Vazquez, G.; AJdabas, E.,
"A New High-Efficiency Single-Phase Transformerless PV Inverter
Topology,"

industrial Electronics, iEEE Transactions on

, vo1.58,

no.l, pp.184,191, Jan. 2011

[ 31

500 ..
o

0.05

0.1

Raveendhra, D.; Pathak, M.K.; Panda, A, "Power conditioning system

for solar power applications: Closed loop DC-DC convertor fed FPGA
controlled diode clamped multilevel inverter,"

Electrical, Electronics
and Computer Science (SCEECS), 2012 iEEE Students' Conference
on, vol., no., pp.l,4, 1-2 March 2012

0.15

Fig.17 Line voltageAB waveform

[41

Line Voltage with Filter

Gonzalez, Roberto; Lopez, Jesus; Sanchis, P.; Gubia, Eugenio; Ursua,

A;

Marroyo,

Photovoltaic

L.,

"High-Efficiency

Single-phase

Power Electronics and Motion Control

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500

pp.1895,l900, Aug. 30 2006-Sept. I 2006

[51

Cavalcanti, M.e.; de Oliveira, K.C.; de Farias, AM.; Neves, F.AS.;

Azevedo,
Eliminate

G.M.S.;

Camboim,

Leakage

Photovoltaic Systems,"

500

Transformerless

Inverter,"

...

L-________L-________L-____

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

0.14

0.1 6

Fig.18 Line voltage with filter waveform

Line voltages and Currents of proposed system THD values

calucated from MATLAB are shown in Table.1
Table.1 THD' s of vo tage and current 0f proposed system
THD
Waveform
21.96%
Line Voltage
1.51%
Line Current

[ 61

Transformer less inverters offers a better efficiency, compared

to those inverters that have a galvanic isolation. In this research
paper conversion topology has been proposed without
transformer in PV system and verified its results in MATLAB
Simulink which is interfaced with Xilinx system generator. In
this topology no common mode voltage is generated, thus
changes in the behavior of the inverter in terms of high
efficiency and insures that no DC will be injected into the load.
Constant voltage MPPT charge controller is designed based on
small signal analysis of converter with PM-57 and
GM=14.7dB. After this charge controller output fed to Multi
level inverter for the conversion of dc to ac. Proposed
multilevel inverter is offering very low line voltage THDs
compared with conventional inverter; offered less size and cost
of the filter.

"Modulation

in

Transformerless

Techniques

to

Three-Phase

industrial ElectroniCS, iEEE Transactions on

vo1.57, no.4, pp.1360,1368, April 2010

L. Ma, T. Kerekes, R. Teodorescu, X. Jin, D. Floricau, and M. Liserre,

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from NPC topology," in

Proc. Eur. Conf Power Electron. Appl.,

2009,

pp. 1-10.
[71

W. Li and X. He, "Review of nonisolated high-step-up DC/DC

converters in photovoltaic grid-connected applications," iEEE Trans.

ind. Electron.,
[8 1

Gonzalez,

vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 1239-1250, Apr. 2011

Roberto;

Lopez,

J.;

Sanchis,

[9 1

P.;

Marroyo,

L.,

"Transformerless Inverter for Single-Phase Photovoltaic Systems,"

Power Electronics, iEEE Transactions on

, vo1.22, no.2, pp.693,697,

March 2007
Saini, T.; Raveendhra, D.; Thakur, P., "Stability analysis of FPGA
based perturb and observe method MPPT charge controller for solar
PV

[10]

IV.CONCLUSION

F.e.,

Currents

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AC-Module Application,"

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0.; Teodorescu, R.; Doval-Gandoy, J., "Multilevel

[II] Lopez,
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iEEE industrial Electronics, iECON 2006 - 32nd Annual Conference

on, vol., no., pp.5191,5196, 6-10 Nov. 2006

[12] Oliveira, K.e.; Cavalcanti, M.e.; Afonso, 1.L.; Farias, A.M.; Neves,
F.AS., "Transformerless photovoltaic systems using neutral point
clamped multilevel inverters," industrial Electronics (ISiE), 20iO
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