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As photovoltaic energy continues to gain market penetration, thanks in part to substantial cost reductions on the solar modules, attention is shifting to the balance-of-system performance and costs. This paper proposes an approach to explore the design limits of a module-integrated inverter by means of the componentlevel multiobjective optimization. A two-stage inverter along with an active filter to eliminate double-frequency content of the dc-link current is proposed for the topology of module-integrated inverter, and three candidate topologies were taken into account for the dc-dc stage. Efficiency, volume, and reliability of the converters are taken as objective functions, and comprehensive component modeling is performed. Pareto frontiers reveal that the limits of the system are illustrated, which help the designer to pick the most suitable topology and design for the entire converter. Experimental results show the validity of the modeling and optimization technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single-phase inverter has inherent double-frequency power ripple, which if not internally mitigated, appears at the input port and deteriorates the maximum power point tracker performance. Conventional dc link inverter topologies filter this significant double-frequency ripple by means of the bus capacitance, usually in the form of electrolytic capacitors, which have well known lifetime challenges. This paper presents a double-frequency ripple cancellation concept and experimental proof of concept. The proposed module-integrated inverter is based on the commonly used two-stage inverter. However, a third port is added for ripple cancellation purposes. Hence, a very small capacitance is needed, and, as a result, a high-reliability film capacitor can be used instead of the bulky low-reliability electrolytic ones. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new microinverter topology that is intended for single-phase grid-connected PV systems. The proposed microinverter topology is based on a flyback converter, where an extra switch is added to separate the decoupling capacitor from the PV Module, which allows for a high voltage and voltage ripples across its terminals. This results in reducing the power decoupling required capacitance. In this manner, long life-time low power density film capacitors can be used instead of life-time limited high power density electrolytic capacitors, resulting in remarkable increase of microinverter's lifespan. The main advantages of the proposed topology are summarized as: 1) eliminating the double-frequency power ripple using a small film capacitor; 2) using long lifetime film capacitors, which will improve the reliability of the inverter; and 3) requiring no additional circuitry to manage the transformer leakage energy. A 100-W microinverter prototype was built to verify the proposed topology. Experimental results show that the proposed topology and its control scheme can realize the power decoupling, while maintaining very good conversion efficiency numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new methodology for calculating the mean time between failure (MTBF) of a photovoltaic module-integrated inverter (PV-MII). Based on a stress-factor reliability methodology, the proposed technique applies a usage model for the inverter to determine the statistical distribution of thermal and electrical stresses for the electrical components. The salient feature of the proposed methodology is taking into account the operating environment volatility of the module-integrated electronics to calculate the MTBF of the MII. This leads to more realistic assessment of reliability than if a single worst case or typical operating point was used. Measured data (module temperature and insolation level) are used to experimentally verify the efficacy of the methodology. The proposed methodology is used to examine the reliability of six different candidate inverter topologies for a PV-MII. This study shows the impact of each component on the inverter reliability, in particular, the power decoupling capacitors. The results confirm that the electrolytic capacitor is the most vulnerable component with the lowest MTBF, but more importantly provide a quantified assessment of realistic MTBF under expected operating conditions rather than a single worst case operating point, which may have a low probability of occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliability of the microinverter is a very important feature that will determine the reliability of the ac-module photovoltaic (PV) system. Recently, many topologies and techniques have been proposed to improve its reliability. This paper presents a thorough study for different power decoupling techniques in single-phase microinverters for grid-tie PV applications. These power decoupling techniques are categorized into three groups in terms of the decoupling capacitor locations: 1) PV-side decoupling; 2) dc-link decoupling; and 3) ac-side decoupling. Various techniques and topologies are presented, compared, and scrutinized in scope of the size of decoupling capacitor, efficiency, and control complexity. Also, a systematic performance comparison is presented for potential power decoupling topologies and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]