Design of High Efficiency DC-DC Converter for Photovoltaic Solar Home Applications

Diary R. Sulaiman Hilmi F. Amin Ismail K. Said E-mail: diariy@gmail.com hilmi_fadhil@yahoo.com ismailgardy@gmail.com Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Salahaddin-Hawler, Hawler, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Abstract The solar energy conversion system is very interesting alternative on supplement the electric system generation, due to the persistent cost reduction of the overall system and cleaner power generation. To obtain a stable voltage from an input supply (PV cells) that is higher and lower than the output, a high efficiency and minimum ripple DC-DC converter required in the system for residential power production. Buck-boost converters make it possible to efficiently convert a DC voltage to either a lower or higher voltage. Buck-boost converters are especially useful for PV maximum power tracking purposes, where the objective is to draw maximum possible power from solar panels at all times, regardless of the load This paper analyzes and describes step by step the process of designing, and simulation of high efficiency low ripple voltage buckboost DC-DC converter for the photovoltaic solar conversion system applicable to a (typical) single family home based on battery-based systems. The input voltage can typically change from (20V) initially, down to (5V), and provide a regulated voltage within the range of the battery (12V). PLECS simulation results provide strong evidences about the high efficiency, minimum ripple voltage, high accuracy, and the usefulness of the system of the proposed converter when applied to either residential or solar home applications. KeywordsPhotovoltaic Solar Systems, DC-DC Converter, Design High Efficiency and Minimum Ripple Voltage BuckBoost Converter, PLECS software. I. INTRODUCTION hotovoltaic PV power systems are one of todays fastest growing renewable energy technologies. Solar cells, which are the foundation of PV systems, convert the energy in sunlight directly into electricity. A number of solar cells electrically connected to each other and mounted in a support structure or frame is called a photovoltaic module. Modules are designed to supply electricity at a certain voltage, such as common (12V) system. Multiple modules can be wired together to form an array. In general, the larger the area of a module or array, the more electricity that will be produced. Photovoltaic modules and arrays produce DC current electricity. The current produced is directly dependent on how much light strikes the module. The structure of the solar cell, module and array are shown in figure [1].

Fig. 1 The Solar cell, module and array

There are two different types of solar energy systems that will convert the solar resource into electricity; one method is by collecting solar energy as heat and converting it into electricity using a typical power plant or engine; the other method is by using photovoltaic PV cells to convert solar energy directly into electricity. The solar energy conversion systems can be connecting to a large electrical transmission grid, or to the storage or auxiliary energy supply. Auxiliary energy may be supplied either as heat before the power conversion system, or as electricity after it. If the photovoltaic route is chosen, extra electricity may be stored, usually in storage batteries, thereby extending the operating time of the system, the (typical 12V) storage batteries are ordinary used in the home solar conversion systems to satisfy its operation and maximize power tracking purpose. The objective is to collect the maximum possible power from solar panels at all times, regardless of the load [2]. The solar energy conversion system provides the complete utilization of the solar energy impinging on solar collectors by having cylindrical lens type collection panels. The PV combiner box is necessary to combine many wires into a few wires. The DC-DC converter converts a DC input voltage, to a DC output voltage, with a magnitude lower or higher than the input voltage. A DC-AC inverter requires its own small amount of electricity to operate. Electricity, which the inverter is converting, must be available in order for the system to work. Utility switches are connected to either an inverters input or output and frequently include overcurrent protection.

Figure 2 shows the basic block diagram of the solar energy conversion system [3].

II. ANALYSIS OF THE BUCK BOOST CONVERTER DC-DC converters are essential in variety of applications including power supplies such as personal/ laptop computers, cellular phones, office equipments, spacecraft power systems, and telecommunication equipments, as well as solar systems where input/output voltage ranges overlap [8]. DC-DC converters with step-up/step-down characteristic are required to produce a regulated output voltage from the solar panel, by storing the input energy temporarily and then releasing that energy to the output at a different voltage. The storage may be in either magnetic field and/or electric field storage components (Inductor/Capacitor). This conversion method is more power efficient (88.20% to 96.55%) than linear voltage regulation which dissipates unwanted power as heat. This efficiency is beneficial to increasing the running time of battery operated devices. High efficiency is invariably required, since cooling of inefficient power converters is difficult and expensive, which can be increased by the use of power MOSFETs, which are able to switch at high frequency with minimum switching losses and require a more simplex drive circuit. Another important consideration in DC-DC converters is the use of synchronous switching which replaces the flywheel diode with a power MOSFET with low "On" resistance, thereby reducing switching losses. This is achieved using PWM switched mode control design or pulse width modulation, PWM allows control and regulation of the total output voltage [9]. The basic schematic structure of the buck-boost converter, and the two operation states switch on and switch off are shown in Figure 3. When the MOSFET switch is turned on, the input voltage source supplies current to the inductor and the capacitor supplies current to the load , when the switch is opened or switched off, the inductor supplies current to the load via the diode D [10].

Fig. 2 The basic block diagram of the solar energy conversion system

DC-DC converters are considered to be of great economical importance in todays society, and are perhaps one of the few electronic circuits that are commonly used in switching power supplies, generally are widely used at home solar systems to produce the desired output power. In the last decade a lot of works have been done during the design and implementation of high efficiency DC-DC converters applicable in solar home systems. H. J. Chiu et. al. proposed a high efficiency, low device stresses, and low current ripple DC-DC converter topology for renewable energy systems, which can be used to obtain a well-regulated output voltage from low-voltage power source [4]. H. S. Kim proposed a series connection of a module integrated DCDC converter output with a photovoltaic panel connected to the output capacitor of the fly-back converter, this method reduces the power level of the DCDC converter and enhances energy conversion efficiency compared with a conventional DCDC converter [5]. In [6] design and control of novel topology for photovoltaic DC-DC converter with high efficiency under wide load ranges by J. P. Lee et. al. were proposed, that can dramatically reduce the power rating and increase the efficiency of a PV system. J. K. Park et. al. in [7] proposed A step-up DC-DC converter with a resonant voltage doubler, the experimental results are carried out for a (1.2kW) DC-DC converter with a constant switching frequency of (70 kHz). The DC-DC converter often includes one or several transistors in order to control the output voltage, using one or more control signals. The converter and switching topology of the proposed buck boost DC-DC converter would result in higher efficiency, lower ripple voltage, and significant increase in the overall available power even in a sun lighting condition. Although a small amount of power is generated, given enough time, a battery will reach its full charge. PLECS simulation results provide strong evidences about the high efficiency, minimum ripple voltage, high accuracy, and the usefulness of the system. With the proposed converter, the vast improvement is obtained in power output over the classic and standard solar power conversion systems, and operates effectively for different thermal status at different input/output conditions. Thus, The proposed converter could be used in residential as well as in higher power applications.

Fig. 3 (a) The basic schematic of buck-boost converter, (b) Switch on for a time duration DT, (c) Switch off for a time duration (1-D)T.

The converter has two distinct modes of operation: Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM), and Discontinuous Conduction mode (DCM), and may operate in both modes, which has different characteristics. Therefore, the converter and its control should be designed on both modes of operation, or preventing the discontinuous mode in the design process to

validate the operation in the continuous mode [11]. Figure 4 shows the buck-boost converter current and voltage waveforms operating in CCM. When the switch is on for a time duration (t=0 to t=DT), the switch conducts the inductor current and the diode becomes revered biased, this make (vL=Vg), this voltage causes a linear increase in (iL). When the switch is turned off, because of the inductive energy storage, (iL) continuous to flow through the diode, and (vL=-Vo) for a time duration [t=(1-D)T] until the switch is turned on again [12].

i L = iL ,min = I L

1 (V g DT ) L

(7)

Then, (iL,min), and (iL,max) can be obtained,

iL i , and iL ,max = I L + L 2 2

(8)

The average inductor current is,

IL =

Io Vo = (1 D) (1 D) R
1 1 v ic dt = o DT c c R

(9)

The peak-peak output ripple voltage (vo) is,

vo = vc =

(10)

It is clear that, the value of the output voltage increases with the duty cycle (D), but in DCM, the amount of energy required by the load is small enough to be transferred in a time smaller than the whole commutation period. In this case, the current through the inductor falls to zero during part of the period. The only difference with the CCM analysis is that the inductor is completely discharged at the end of the commutation cycle. The inductor current at the beginning of the cycle is zero, its maximum value at (t=DT) is [13,14],

iL ,max =

Vg DT L

(11)

Fig. 4 Current and voltage waveforms of the buck-boost converter operating in CCM

And, during the off period (iL) falls to zero at the end of the off-state, and then, the load current (Io) equal to average diode current (ID,av), and the diode current equal to the inductor current during the off-state, therefore, (Io) is equal to,
2 1 V g DT V g D V g D T I o = I D ,av = = 2 L Vo 2 L Vo 2

(12)

Under the steady state operation of the converter in the CCM, the analytical expression of (vo/Vg), (iL), and (vo) can be obtained. Equating the integral to zero of the integral voltage over one time period yields [12,13],
T

Both (Vo/Vg), and (Io/Ig) are equal to,

2 Vo V g D T = Vg 2 L Io

(13)

v
0

dt = vL dt + vL dt = 0
0 ton

ton

toff

(1) (2)

Vg DT + (Vo ) (1 D)T = 0

2 L Io I o Vg = = I g Vo Vg D 2 T

(14)

Vo D = Vg 1 D
Therefore,

(3)

Therefore, the output voltage gain (Vo/Vg) in the continuous or CCM mode depends on the duty cycle (D) only, but in the DCM mode depends on the duty cycle (D), inductor value (L), input voltage (Vg), and the output current (Io) [12]. III. DESIGN OF THE BUCK BOOST CONVERTER

I o Vg 1 D = = I g Vo D
For the buck-boost converter,

(4)

I L = I g + Io

(5)

1 i L = L

DT

v
o

dt

(6)

A DC-DC converter is considered as a DC transformer that provides a loss less transfer of energy between different circuits at different voltage levels. When DC-DC conversion is needed there is also a need for control, need for higher efficiencies, and minimum output ripple voltage, this means increase and decrease voltages with control is needed. So, the switching frequency control, or PWM duty ratio control is required. In the proposed buck-boost converter, the input voltages from (5-20V) are possible to produce constant (12V)

output which will be use in the design of solar home applications effectively. Table 1 gives a typical daily electrical consumption of various devices in a house (Lighting, Television, Sat-Receiver, Computer, and Refrigerator) which will be the base of the proposed design procedure.
TABLE 1 DAILY ELECTRICAL CONSUMPTION OF VARIOUS DEVICES IN
A HOUSE

transient response with an acceptable output ripple voltage, and according to the simulation results, the (iL) considered to be (3%), so we can select its value equal to (3%) [10,13].

i L = 0.03 I L
The required inductor will be,

(15)

L=

Vg D f iL

(16)

device Lighting Television Sat. Receiver Computer Refrigerator Total

Power 500W 160W 40W 50W 250W 1kW

Operating Time 5 5 5 5 5

Electrical Consumption 2500W/h 800W/h 200W/h 250W/h 1250W/h 5kW/h

The switching frequency of high efficiency buck-boost converters applicable in solar systems typically will be between (20kHz-100kHz) [14]. Choosing the minimum and maximum input voltage values for only these two frequencies to determine the inductor value is shown in table 3.
TABLE 3 DETERMINATION OF LCR Switching frequency Input Voltage L (H) f=20kHz Vg=5V 20.76 Vg=20V 93.77 f=100kHz Vg=5V 4.15 Vg=20V 18.75

According to the circuit diagram in figure 3, when MOSFET switch is on the voltage across the inductor is equal to (Vg) and when diode switch is on it is equal to (Vout). Then the duty ratio can be related to (Vout) by equation 3. The input and output currents are determined by the switching states of equation 4, [IoD=Ig(1-D)]. Theoretically, if (D=0), the output is zero, if (D=1) the output is infinity, and if (D=0.5), then the output is equal to the input voltage [14]. To consider the enhanced operation of the converter, the accurate determination of the circuit elements is essential. The inductor value is most important to not be below the critical value so that the converter will not have a discontinuous or DCM mode, and mathematically its value must be too small to maintain current flow at all times. When the converter is in discontinuous mode its output becomes load dependent. To find the switching frequency (f) for which (L>Lcr), the (Io) values, the time period, and (D) must be known, because the value of (Lcr) is dependant upon them. To determine (Io), the uses of analytical equations are possible [15]. For a typical (12V) batteries, and (1kW) home devices shown in table 1, the output current of the converter will be (83.34A). Then the calculated results of duty ratio (D) and inductor current (IL=Io/1-D) of table 2 are obtained.
TABLE 2 CALCULATED DUTY RATIO FOR DIFFERENT VIN Vg Vo D IL Vo D (V) % (A) (V) (V) % 12 70.58 283.2 13 12 48.00 12 66.66 249.9 14 12 46.15 12 63.15 226.1 15 12 44.44 12 60.00 208.3 16 12 42.85 12 57.14 194.4 17 12 41.37 12 54.54 183.3 18 12 40.00 12 52.17 174.2 19 12 38.70 12 50.00 166.6 20 12 37.50

For any value of the switching frequency (L>Lcr>4.15H), so, we can choose (L=40H), hence, the switching frequency will be (46kHz). The capacitor value is selected mainly to deliver the load current when the switch is on. When diode becomes forward biased the output capacitor value determined by the load ripple current/voltage and the duty ratio. The minimum or critical capacitor value (Ccr) for a desired output ripple and load current/voltage is [15].

Ccr =

io D f Vo

(17)

Then, the critical value of the capacitor (Ccr) operating on the frequency (46kHz) and minimum/maximum input voltages (520V) regarding the output ripple voltage (vo<50mV), using (vo=40mV) is calculated as shown in table 4.
TABLE 4 DETERMINATION OF CCR Vg=20V Input Voltage Vg=5V 3258 815 C (F)

Vg (V) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

IL (A) 160.2 154.7 150.0 145.8 142.1 138.9 135.9 133.3

The possible capacitance value for our design should be (C>Ccr), So, we can choose (C=1000F). The complete design parameters values of the proposed DC-DC converter are shown in table 5.
TABLE 5 THE COMPLETE DESIGN PARAMETERS VALUE f (Hz) L (H) C (F) 46K 40 1000

There are different ways to calculate the required inductance. The best method is to choose the inductor ripple current (iL) less than (20%) or between (20%-30%) of the average value of (IL). To make the regulator operate in continuous mode and the design will have a good load

IV. DESIGN OF THE CONVERTER CONTROL LOOP Use Most solar switch-mode supplies rely on a single-phase pulse width modulation (PWM) output that is controlled via voltage feedback. PWM is the process of switching the power to a device on and off at a given frequency, with varying on

and off times. These on and off times are referred to (10%, 50%, and 90%) duty cycle signals (D). Digital PWM (DPWM) controllers can offer a number of advantages over analog controllers, including flexibility, lower sensitivity, high frequency switching, and programmability without external components [16]. Figure 5 shows a digitally controlled buck-boost converter. It consists of a sensor gain (H), two analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a processing unit (regulator) that implements a look-up control signal, and a digital pulse width modulator (DPWM) to generate the switching signal d(t) [16,17].

Fig. 6 (a) The block schematic of DPWM, (b) The control signals

Fig. 5 The complete schematic of the buck-boost converter and DPWM controller

In the buck-boost digital controller of figure 5, the output voltage is divided by the sensor gain (H) and converted into a digital signal (Vo) by using of a sampling process and analogto-digital conversion (ADC). The difference between the digitized sample of the converter output and the reference input voltage (Vg) by an (ADC) produces an error signal (Ve) that is processed by the digital regulator to calculate the required duty cycle (D). The digital pulse width modulator (DPWM) generates the switching signal d(t) that controls the power MOSFET [16]. The duty cycle (D) of the d(t) waveform is proportional to the control voltage (Vc). The duty cycle (D) is automatically adjusted such that the converter output voltage (Vo) follows the reference voltage (Vg) to generate a constant output of (12V) independent of variations in (Vg) or load current, and over a range of process and temperature variations. Similar digital controllers have been briefly described by F. Baranoti in [16], and A. Prodic in [17]. Where, the DPWM technique employs switching at constant frequency, i.e., (T=ton+toff), where T is constant time switching period, (ton and toff) represent the time the switch is on and off, respectively. By adjusting the switching time (ton/toff) ratio the average output voltage can be controlled effectively. This operation can be represented as represented in the equation 3. A popular solution for generation of the switch control signal is to compare control voltage (Vcontrol) with a repetitive waveform such as sawtooth as shown in figure 6a and 6b [18]. (Vcontrol) is obtained by amplifying the difference between the actual output voltage from the converter and its desired value.

The frequency of the repetitive waveform, represented by the sawtooth voltage in figure 6b, establishes the switching frequency. This frequency is kept constant in a PWM control (46kHz). When the amplified error signal, which varies slowly with time relative to the switching frequency, is greater then the sawtooth waveform, the switch control signal becomes high, causing the switch on. Otherwise, the switch is off. The high power efficiency for all loads is the main advantages of this control scheme further than the use of single switching frequency which makes the level of output ripple voltage controllable to desired value. V. SIMULATION RESULTS The complete buck-boost converter with its digital controller DPWM of figure 5 were simulated, using PLECS software interfaced to MATLAB for samples of different input voltages (Vg=5-20V), constant (12V) output, and determined parameters (f=46kHz, L=40H, and C=1000F).The simulation results of efficiency and ripple voltage are shown in table 6 and figure 7.
TABLE 6 THE SIMULATION RESULTS FOR VIN=5-20V Vripple(mV) Vripple(mV) (%) (%) Io=100A Io=83.34A Io=100A Io=83.34A 11.12 87.51 10.94 88.20 11.10 88.72 10.90 89.41 11.08 89.92 10.82 91.05 10.96 90.88 10.77 91.97 10.93 91.93 10.70 92.78 10.92 92.11 10.72 93.11 10.89 93.34 10.63 94.08 10.94 93.98 10.70 94.27 10.88 94.02 10.63 94.61 10.91 94.46 10.70 95.05 10.92 94.68 10.66 95.27 10.93 94.85 10.69 95.44 10.87 94.96 10.63 95.94 10.90 95.23 10.68 96.11 10.93 95.69 10.66 96.28 10.82 95.87 10.58 96.55

Vg(V) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

allow further improvements in efficiency, ripple, and usable power range. Other control schemes are also possible, and it could provide a way for controlling other converter topologies. REFERENCES
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[2]

[3] [4] [5]

[6]

[7] [8]

Fig.7 (a-h) samples of the simulation results for different Vin (5-20V)

VI. CONCLUSION This paper presents a complete analysis and design of the buck-boost DC-DC switching converter and digital controller architecture for (1kW) home appliances to meet the requirements of high efficiency, minimum ripple voltage and programmability without external components based on a constant (12V) output voltage reaching the output load current of (83.34A). The converter and controller architecture for the designed parameters are simulated using PLECS software to validate the converter design procedure and operation. The simulations have demonstrated that, the design can achieve (88.20%) efficiency at (5V) input, scaled up to (96.55%) efficiency at (20V) input, producing acceptable ripple voltage (>11mV) for the inputs (5-20V), all at (46kHz) switching frequency under a (83.34A). Therefore, the key advantages of this design are: the ability to choose the constant output voltage and current, the procedure is simple, the converter and controller has a simple structure, improved efficiency up to (96.55%), reduced output ripple voltage-less than (11mV), the complete converter circuit is small and inexpensive, and finally, the designed converter circuit topology operates effectively for different input and output operating conditions. So, the procedure outlined in this paper can be easily adopted for buck-boost converter. It is, therefore, feasible for common solar DC-DC conversion applications. This design procedure in principle opens the possibility to additional work in converter design and modeling, and could
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