White Paper WP083023EN Effective April 2016

AC vs. DC coupling in utility-scale

solar plus storage projects
Chris Thompson AC vs. DC coupling: key design considerations to reduce costs and improve
Eaton
efficiency on utility-scale projects.
The solar industry has shown a much broader
interest in combining storage with solar
installations as grid integration benefits have
DC DC
increased and battery costs have decreased. Key
system design considerations can help projects
DC AC
be more cost-effective, reliable, efficient, and
bankable. For utility-scale solar plus storage
projects, one of the most critical considerations DC
is between AC and DC coupling architectures.
DC
Perhaps the first design choice is the basic
architecture of the plant, including how battery
storage will be aggregated to complement the
photovoltaic system (PV). There are two basic DC DC
approaches that can be taken: AC coupling or DC
coupling. As each name implies, this architecture DC AC
defines the way PV and storage are coupled
together. In AC coupling (Figure 1), the outputs DC
of the PV and battery are coupled on the AC side
of the system. In DC coupling, as shown in DC
Figure 2, the outputs of the PV and battery are
coupled on the DC side of the system.

Figure 2. DC coupling
! DC
Implementation of both of these approaches is
! AC predicated on the inverter technology applied.
In AC coupling, an inverter is used that directly
converts DC to AC. Such inverters are single
DC stage, and in this implementation, separate
! inverters are used for batteries and PV. In this
AC architecture, conventional PV inverters are used.
! Given the large established market for this type
of inverter, this equipment is highly reliable,
DC highly efficient, and low cost. In AC coupling,
the batteries are connected with bi-directional
!
AC inverters with full four-quadrant capability. Like PV
inverters, these bi-directional inverters are single
stage and therefore are highly efficient, highly
DC reliable, and low cost.
DC coupling requires a different approach and
AC applies a dramatically different inverter topology.
With DC coupling, the DC sources are coupled
together; however, in practice this is more
Figure 1. AC coupling complicated and even potentially dangerous.
When combining PV and batteries, care must
be taken to never directly combine the DC buses.
PV voltage is regulated by an MPPT algorithm and
changes throughout the day based on irradiance
levels and module temperature.
White Paper WP083023EN
Effective April 2016
On the other hand, battery voltage is regulated based on state of
charge. Perhaps more importantly, batteries both accept power
and provide power while PV panels only provide power. Erroneous
attempts to “charge” a PV array could be both dangerous and
damaging. Similarly, applying the incorrect DC voltage to a battery
could also be both dangerous and damaging to the batteries. Due
to these issues, separate DC/DC converters on the different DC
sources are used (Figure 2). These converters provide both the
proper voltage regulation and electrical isolation needed by the PV
array and the batteries. When more than one DC input (or port) is
provided, it is common to call it a “multi-port” inverter. Because the
ports require isolation, they are also multi-stage inverters. This refers
to the concept that power is processed multiple times before an
output AC waveform is provided.
The multi-stage aspect of the multi-port inverter is one of its
key weaknesses. When power is processed twice, there are
greater losses. This directly results in lower efficiency. Reduced
efficiency results in greater heat generated in the converter, greater
component stress, and higher failure rates.
The impact of this double processing on efficiency is shown in
Figure 3. In a single stage AC coupled inverter, power is only
processed once (Figure 4). This yields inverters that are more
efficient. In addition to the benefits of efficiency, single-stage
inverters also cost less and are more reliable.
1%–1.5% 1.5%–2%
lost as heat lost as heat
DC/DC DC/AC
DC DC
96%–97%
Efficiency
DC AC
DC
DC
Figure 3. Efficiency of two-stage inverters
1.5%–2%
DC
98%–98.5%
Efficiency
AC
Figure 4. Efficiency of single-stage inverters
2 EATON www.eaton.com
AC vs. DC coupling in utility-scale
solar plus storage projects

The impacts of efficiency alone on a project can be substantial,
particularly when combining PV with storage. In many locations,
the value of just one percent greater efficiency is easily $1,500 per
megawatt per year. With storage, efficiency is critical because the
power is processed both when the battery is charged and then
when it is discharged. Such efficiency losses are effectively doubled.
When comparing AC and DC coupling in large-scale systems, it is
hard to ignore the substantial “head start” that AC coupling has.
The inverters used in AC coupling are substantially similar to solar
and wind inverters. In fact, some vendors (like Eaton) have their
storage inverter platform based on a common platform with wind
or solar. Given the many years and many gigawatts that have been
installed in wind and solar, such inverter types have evolved and
progressed substantially. Because of this, these inverter platforms
have substantial field experience, high reliability, and are considered
“bankable” by debt providers. Typically, vendors that promote AC
coupling are large, public, and global electrical equipment providers–
further enhancing bankability. In contrast, multi-port inverters tend to
come from private start-ups or other small companies.
Design flexibility is another key consideration for large projects
combining PV and storage. With AC coupled systems, it is
straightforward to adjust the PV/Storage ratio. For example, 10 MW
of PV (using 2 MW inverters) and 2 MW of storage (using one
inverter) is shown in Figure 5. This provides a 20 percent storage
ratio. This is easily adjusted to 40 percent by adding an additional
storage inverter (Figure 6).
DC
AC
DC
AC
DC
AC Point of
interconnection
DC
AC
DC
AC
DC
AC
Figure 5. Plant design with AC coupling and 20% storage
AC vs. DC coupling in utility-scale White Paper WP083023EN
solar plus storage projects Effective April 2016

Now contrast this approach with a multi-port or DC coupled design
(Figure 7).
DC

AC
DC DC
DC
DC AC
AC
DC
DC
DC
AC Point of
interconnection
DC
DC DC
AC
DC AC
DC
DC
AC

DC
DC

AC
DC DC

DC
DC AC Point of
AC interconnection
DC

Figure 6. Plant design with AC coupling and 40% storage DC

With DC coupling, the PV and batteries are paired on each inverter.

This is inherently convenient for 1:1 ratios of PV to storage, but less DC DC
so when optimizing designs around other ratios. The other attribute
that becomes obvious when reviewing these two approaches is the DC AC
battery arrangement. AC coupling is inherently better because it is
optimized around a smaller number of larger battery packs; this is
DC
less costly and easier to deploy and manage than having multiple
distributed battery packs. For example, using five smaller battery
DC
packs rather than one large one will require five fire suppression
systems and five air conditioning systems. This adds both significant
up-front cost but also significant ongoing O&M costs.
DC DC

DC AC

DC

DC

Figure 7. Plant design with DC coupling

EATON www.eaton.com 3
White Paper WP083023EN AC vs. DC coupling in utility-scale
Effective April 2016 solar plus storage projects

Plant design for large-scale systems
When designing large solar plus storage systems, there are
multiple benefits with AC coupling vs. DC coupling—in terms of
reduced costs and increases in efficiency, reliability, bankability,
and design flexibility.

DC coupling AC coupling
Cost High Low
Efficiency Low High
Reliability Low High
Bankability Low High
Design flexibility Low High

It is important to note that this comparison is specifically under

the context of high power multi-MW projects. When considering
residential or commercial projects, many of these benefits become
less significant. In fact, on such projects the benefits of using a
single multi-port inverter rather than two AC coupled inverters should
be considered. In these cases, the multi-port inverter approach can
save installation cost and space. When making any design tradeoff
decisions, one approach is typically not the best for all applications.
In the case of utility-scale projects, however, there are significant
benefits to AC coupling over DC coupling.

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