A Single-Phase Seven-Level Triple Boost Inverter for Grid-Connected Transformerless PV Applications

A new seven-level common ground (CG) switched capacitor (SC) based grid-tied transformerless inverter has been introduced in this article, which has three times boosting capability of input voltage. Thus, this inverter is preferable for low-voltage PV applications without any boost conversion stage. To step up the input PV voltage and facilitate seven steps in output voltage, two SC cells are connected in parallel. A virtual dc-link capacitor serves a key role for a negative half cycle on behalf of H-bridge and helps in constructing topology with CG. The CG configuration of this inverter helps in bypassing the stray capacitance, which eliminates the leakage current and consequently reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI) considerably. Hence, there is further no requirement of any EMI filter for electromagnetic compatibility. Additionally, this inverter handles reactive power during the grid's lagging/leading power factor condition. To regulate active and reactive grid power, a proportional-resonant current controller is designed. The proposed modulation scheme helps in balancing the capacitor's voltages at their base values with allowable ripple. A detailed comparison also has been presented with other contemporary seven-level inverters. The inverter circuit details, control technique, pulsewidth modulation scheme, thermal modeling, and loss analysis with component design guidelines are described in detail. Experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of this proposed inverter.