Performance Improvement of Single-Phase Transformerless Grid-Connected PV Inverters Regarding Common-Mode Voltage (CMV) and LVRT

The single-phase transformerless grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems, mainly the low-power single-phase systems, require high efficiency, small size, lightweight, and low-cost grid-connected inverters. However, problems such as leakage current, the DC current injection and safety issues are incorporated with transformerless grid-connected PV inverters. Besides, the new standards such as Low-Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT) capability and staying connected to the grid during the fault occurrence should be considered for the next generation of transformerless PV inverters. In this paper, a study is going underway on the LVRT capability and the Common-Mode Voltage (CMV) in a number of most common transformerless grid-connected PV inverters. In fact, by a comprehensive study on all possible switching combinations and the current paths during the freewheeling period of the selected inverters, the proposed control strategy for performance improvement of the PV inverters under the normal and the LVRT conditions is presented. As a matter of fact, a reconfigurable PWM method is proposed, which makes it possible to switch between two PWM methods and hence provide improved performance of the inverters in the LVRT condition. Finally, the results of simulations in the normal and the LVRT operations to verify the theoretical concepts are indicated.