The third batch of photovoltaic inverters

What is a PV inverter?

2.1 Introduction PV inverters consist of multiple components , including power semiconductors, sensors, resistors, magnetics, control circuits, and auxiliary power supplies. All these components introduce some amount of power loss in the converter. Most of the time these losses dissipate as heat and lead to an increase in local temperature.

Which type of Inverter should be used in a PV plant?

One-phase inverters are usually used in small plants, in large PV plants either a network consisting of several one-phase inverters or three-phase inverters have to be used on account of the unbalanced load of 4.6 kVA.

How does a thermal model of a PV inverter work?

The thermal model of the inverter is implemented using the data obtained from the data sheets entered in the form of variables, parameters, and lookup tables. Figure 16 shows the thermal model of a generic H-bridge-based PV inverter with current source at the input and AC grid voltage source at the output connected through an inductor filter.

How is the lifetime of a PV inverter predicted?

Up to a certain point in time, the entire lifetime of a PV inverter was predicted based on the failure rates of individual components and handbooks provided by the manufacturers. In recent years, the prediction of the reliability and lifetime of power converters has been done through physics-of-failure assessments.

Which PV inverter vendors shipments grew the most in 2022?

The top five vendors – Huawei, Sungrow, Ginlong Solis, Growatt, and GoodWe – shipped more than 200 GWac and accounted for 71% of total global PV inverter shipments in 2022, growing 8% from 2021. Huawei’s shipments saw a significant increase of 83% in 2022 compared to 2021, while Sungrow’s shipments expanded 56% in the same period.

Why are PV inverters becoming more efficient?

The new generation of PV inverters are becoming more efficient, with efficiencies greater than 97% The efficiency is brought about by changing the topology of the power converter or control scheme or by better circuit board layout techniques.