Optimization of SiC-based H5 and Conergy-NPC transformerless PV inverters

The transformerless DC/AC inverters are critical components in the rapidly growing market of grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) applications. Also, the SiC-based power semiconductors are capable to operate reliably at high operating temperature and switches frequency levels. In this paper, a new design technique is presented for optimizing the switching frequency and structure of the LCL-type output filter in transformerless H5 and Conergy-NPC PV inverters, which employ SiC-type power devices. The design optimization results demonstrate that the optimized SiC-based PV inverters are more effective in terms of energy production than their non-optimized and Si-based counterparts. Reducing the market price of SiC-type power semiconductors enables to design optimized PV inverters with a lower cost of energy than that of PV inverters employing Si technology, thus maximizing the economic profitability of the PV system.