S4 grid-connected single-phase transformerless inverter for PV application

This paper introduces a new single-phase transformerless inverter for grid-connected photovoltaic systems with low leakage current. It consists of four power switches, two diodes, two capacitors and a filter at the output stage. The neutral of the grid is directly connected to the negative terminal of the PV source. This results in a constant common-mode voltage and almost zero leakage current. A unipolar Sinusoidal Pulse-Width Modulation (SPWM) technique is used to modulate the inverter to reduce the output current ripple and the filter requirements. The main advantages of this inverter are compact size, low cost, flexible grounding configuration and higher efficiency. The operating principle and analysis of the proposed circuit are presented in details. Experimental results of a 500 W prototype are demonstrated to validate the proposed topology and the overall concept. The results obtained clearly verify the performance of the proposed inverter and its practical application for grid-connected PV systems.