IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO.

9, SEPTEMBER 2017 6989

Modulation Technique for Single-Phase

Transformerless Photovoltaic Inverters
With Reactive Power Capability
Tan Kheng Suan Freddy, June-Hee Lee, Student Member, IEEE,
Hyun-Cheol Moon, Student Member, IEEE, Kyo-Beum Lee, Senior Member, IEEE,
and Nasrudin Abd Rahim, Senior Member, IEEE

AbstractThis paper underpins the principles for
generating reactive power in single-phase transformerless
photovoltaic (PV) inverters. Two mainstream and widely
adopted PV inverters are explored, i.e., H5 and HERIC.
With conventional modulation techniques, reactive power
cannot be realized in H5 and HERIC due to the absence
of freewheeling path in negative power region. Based on
the study, modulation techniques are proposed to provide
bidirectional current path during freewheeling period. With
proposed modulation technique, reactive power control is
achieved in H5 and HERIC inverters, without any modifica-
tion on the converter structures. The performances of the
proposed modulation techniques are studied via MATLAB
simulation and further validated with experimental results.
Index TermsModulation technique, reactive power,
transformerless.
I. INTRODUCTION
HOTOVOLTAIC (PV) energy has seen remarkable growth
P in recent decades owing to the renewable energy policy,
feed-in-tariff and the cost-reduction of the PV installations. Ac-
cording to IEA-PVPS annual report [1], the cumulative capacity
of installed PV reaches 230 GW by 2015, out of which the ma-
jority (90%) is grid-connected system. The increase in the
demand of the PV installation, especially grid-connected PV
system, indicates that there is a need for in-depth research and
development.
Manuscript received September 7, 2016; revised November 22, 2016,
December 31, 2016, and January 20, 2017; accepted February 2, 2017.
Date of publication March 22, 2017; date of current version August 9,
2017. This work was supported in part by the ASEAN-ROK Academic
Exchange Programme 2016/2017, and in part by the Basic Science
Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea
funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning under Grant
2016R1A2B4010636. (Corresponding author: Tan Kheng Suan Freddy.)
T. K. S. Freddy is with the School of Engineering, Faculty of Comput-
ing, Engineering and Technology, Asia Pacific University of Technology
and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia (e-mail: freddytan.86@
gmail.com).
J.-H. Lee, H.-C. Moon, and K.-B Lee are with the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499,
South Korea (e-mail: ljh20609@ajou.ac.kr; mhc0201@ajou.ac.kr;
kyl@ajou.ac.kr).
N. A. Rahim is with the UM Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre
(UMPEDAC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 59990, Malaysia, and
also with King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: tion of bipolar PWM.
nasrudin@um.edu.my).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are availablecapability were recently proposed in [16] and [17] by utilizing
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2017.2686366
0278-0046 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
In grid-connected PV systems, an inverter is used to con-
vert the direct current (dc) from the PV array into alternating
current (ac) to supply the electricity to the utility grid. Gener-
ally, there are two types of grid-connected PV inverters, that is,
with and without a 50/60 Hz transformer. Since a transformer is
bulky, expensive, and has low efficiency, transformerless invert-
ers have become a solution for high-performance application
[2][4].
Various topologies and modulation techniques have been in-
troduced and published [5][12]. H5 [7] and HERIC [8] are two
mainstream transformerless PV inverters due to the simple struc-
ture and high efficiency. The leakage current has been success-
fully reduced to adhere to standard requirement. Even though
transformerless inverters in literature are capable of suppress-
ing the leakage current, most of which are designed for unity
power factor operation only. In fact, reactive power support is
required for next-generation PV inverter in order to allow high
penetration of PV system in the utility grid [13], [14]. To achieve
this target, many international standards have been revised. Ac-
cording to VDE-AR-N4105 [13], reactive power capability is
essential for grid-connected PV inverters.
In light of this, conventional bipolar modulation is reported as
a potential candidate for next-generation PV inverter [14]. Be-
sides leakage current elimination, bipolar modulation technique
is able to provide reactive power support. However, reactive
power capability comes at a cost of high switching loss due to
two-level modulation. In every switching transition, the voltage
changes across the inductor by twice of input voltage. Thus,
efficiency is low for bipolar modulation.
As a result, several transformerless PV inverter topologies
with reactive power capability have been proposed [14][19]
via three-level modulation (unipolar modulation). In order to
provide reactive power control in conventional H5 topology,
combined unipolar and bipolar pulse width modulation (PWM)
was proposed in [15]. The PWM is switched from unipolar
to bipolar during the negative power region. Although reactive
power control is attained, the implementation is complicated.
The current ripple and switching loss are high due to the adop-
High-efficiency transformerless inverters with reactive power
MOSFETS and SiC diodes. Even though high efficiency is realized
6990 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2017
Fig. 1. H5 inverter. (a) Converter structure. (b) Conventional PWM.
via MOSFETS, the converter structures become complex. This is
because the converter design has to be optimized to avoid the
conduction of antiparallel body diodes of MOSFET [18]. In [19],
clamping branch was added to conventional H5 structure to
clamp the common-mode voltage (CMV) to half of the input
voltage. As a result, leakage current is completely eliminated.
H6 [20] and improved inverter [21] were proposed to suppress
the leakage current. High power density was achieved in [21]
due to the use of double-frequency PWM. Furthermore, these
topologies are able to operate in nonunity power factor region.
Nonetheless, the reactive power capabilities of which were not
thoroughly investigated and were not experimentally verified.
Even though several transformerless PV inverter topologies
with reactive power capability have been proposed, the converter
structures and modulation techniques are relatively complicated
which increase the cost, losses, and complexity of the design.
Moreover, the educational material in this field is scarce. There
is no discussion on principles of reactive power generation in
transformerless PV inverters.
To bridge the gap, this paper aims to investigate the reac-
tive power capability of the single-phase transformerless PV in-
verter. Two commercial PV inverters are explored here, H5 and
HERIC topologies. Based on the study, the general principles
of reactive power generation are underlined. With conventional
PWM, it is found that reactive power cannot be realized due
to the absence of freewheeling path in negative power region.
Based on the analysis, modulation techniques are proposed to
provide bidirectional current path during freewheeling period.
With proposed modulation technique, reactive power control is
achieved in H5 and HERIC inverters, without any modifica-
tion on the converter structure. Furthermore, the common-mode
Fig. 2. HERIC inverter. (a) Converter structure. (b) Conventional PWM.
behavior is not compromised. Leakage current is suppressed
within the permissible level.
The proposed PWM is studied in terms of reactive power
capability, CMV, leakage current and efficiency. The perfor-
mances of which are validated via MATLAB simulation and
experimental results. It is worth noting that H5 and HERIC
topologies are explored in this paper due to their simple struc-
ture, high efficiency, and the wide adoption in the industry. The
proposed PWM allows them to maintain the existing structure
while achieving reactive power control.
This paper is organized as follows. Reactive power capabil-
ity of single-phase transformerless inverter will be explored in
Section II. Based on the analysis, proposed modulation tech-
nique is proposed in Section III. Sections IV and V present
the simulation results and experimentally results, respectively.
Finally, conclusion is made in Section VI to summarize the
findings and results.
II. REACTIVE POWER CAPABILITY OF A SINGLE-PHASE
TRANSFORMERLESS PV INVERTER
While the leakage current suppression method has been
mature, the reactive power capability of the transformerless
inverters are not properly investigated. Hence, the reactive
power capability of single-phase transformerless PV inverter
is explored in this section. Two commercial PV inverters are
explored here, H5 and HERIC topologies. The principles of
reactive power generation in single-phase PV inverter are then
underlined. Prior to discussion, it is helpful to define the CMV
FREDDY et al.: MODULATION TECHNIQUE FOR SINGLE-PHASE TRANSFORMERLESS PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTERS WITH REACTIVE POWER 6991

Fig. 3. Operation modes of H5 topology with conventional PWM. (a) Mode 1conduction mode and (b) Mode 2freewheeling mode during
positive half cycle. (c) Mode 3conduction mode and (d) Mode 4freewheeling mode during negative half cycle.

Fig. 4. Operation modes of HERIC topology with conventional PWM. (a) Mode 1conduction mode and (b) Mode 2freewheeling mode during
positive half cycle. (c) Mode 3conduction mode and (d) Mode 4freewheeling mode during negative half cycle.

VCM and differential-mode voltage VDM , as follows:

VDM = VAB = VAN VBN (1)

VDM = VAB = VDC (7)
VAN + VBN
VCM = (2) VDC
2 VCM = . (8)
2
where VAN and VBN are the phase voltage of leg A and leg B
of the PV inverter, respectively. In mode 4 Fig. 3(d), S5 and S2 are OFF while only S3 is ON.
Current decreases and freewheels through S3 and antiparallel
A. Unity Power Factor diode of S1 . VAN increases and VBN decreases until their values
reach the common point, VDC /2. VCM and VDM become
Fig. 3 presents the principle operation of H5 topology and
the conventional switching pattern is shown in Fig. 1(b). In
mode 1 Fig. 3(a), S5 , S1 , and S4 are ON while S2 and S3 VDM = VAB = 0 (9)
are OFF. Current increases and flows through S5 , S1 , and S4 . VDC
VAN = VDC and VBN = 0. Therefore, the VCM and VDM are VCM = . (10)
2
calculated as follows:
For unity power factor operation, it is clear that H5 topology
VDM = VAB = VDC (3)
is able to generate unipolar PWM (+VDC , 0, VDC ) and the
VDC CMV is constant at VDC /2. It is worth noting that HERIC
VCM = . (4)
2 inverter is also sharing the similar operating principles which
generate constant CMV. The leakage current is thus reduced
In mode 2 Fig. 3(b), S5 and S4 are OFF while only S1 is ON. [12]. The HERIC inverter with the corresponding switching
Current decreases and freewheels through S1 and antiparallel pattern is shown in Fig. 2 and operating principles of which are
diode of S3 . VA N decreases and VBN increases until their values presented in Fig. 4.
reach the common point, VDC /2. VCM and VDM become

VDM = VAB = 0 (5) B. Nonunity Power Factor

VDC
VCM = . (6)
2
In mode 3 Fig. 3(c), S5 , S2 , and S3 are ON while S1 and
S4 are OFF. Current increases and flows through S5 , S2 , and S3 .
VAN = 0 and VBN = VDC , so the VCM and VDM are expressed
Grid voltage (Vg ) and grid current (Ig ) have opposite polarity
during the negative power region. In order to generate unipolar
PWM in negative power region, VAB should be +VDC and 0,
or VDC and 0, depending on the polarities of both Vg and
Ig . When Vg is negative and Ig is positive, current freewheels
through antiparallel diode of S2 , of S3 and of S5 , as depicted in
6992 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2017
Fig. 5. Operation modes of conventional H5 topology in negative power
region. (a) V g is negative and Ig is positive. (b) V g is positive and Ig is
negative.
Fig. 5(a). VAN = 0 and VBN = VDC , so
VDM = VAB = VDC (11)
VDC
VCM = . (12)
2
When Vg is positive and Ig is negative, current freewheels
through antiparallel diode of S4 , of S1 and of S5 , as depicted in
Fig. 5(b). VAN = VDC and VBN = 0. Hence,
VDM = VAB = VDC (13)
VDC
VCM = . (14)
2
However, there is no path for the current to flow in order
to generate zero voltage. In fact, the same occasion follows in
HERIC inverter. With conventional switching pattern, current
freewheels through the antiparallel diodes of the corresponding
switches to generate VDC or +VDC as shown in Fig. 6(a) and
(b), respectively. There is no current path to achieve zero-voltage
state. This explains why H5 and HERIC with the conventional
modulation techniques are not suitable for reactive power appli-
cation. In fact, the whole principle operation is similar to most
of the topologies in the literature. They operate optimally at
unity power factor. Nonetheless, during negative power region,
zero-voltage state could not be realized because there is no path
for the current to flow.
Based on the analysis, principle of generating reactive power
in single-phase transformerless PV inverter is underlined cur-
rent path must be provided so that zero-voltage state is attained
during negative power region.
Fig. 6. Operation modes of conventional HERIC topology in negative
power region. (a) V g is negative and Ig is positive. (b) V g is positive and
Ig is negative.
III. PROPOSED MODULATION TECHNIQUES WITH REACTIVE
POWER CAPABILITY
According to Section II, H5 and HERIC with conventional
PWMs are not suitable for reactive power application because
they fail to generate zero voltage during the negative power re-
gion. In light of this, simple modulation techniques are proposed
here in order to create a new current path to achieve zero-voltage
state during the negative power region.
A. Operation Principle of Proposed PWM
Fig. 7 shows the proposed modulation techniques for both
topologies. As shown in Fig. 7, region I and region II belong
to positive power region (Vg and Ig are in same polarity) while
region III and region IV are negative power region (Vg and Ig are
in opposite polarity). The detailed principle operation of region I
and region II have been discussed earlier in Section II.
The proposed PWM for H5 inverter is shown in Fig. 7(a). In
region III, Vg is negative while Ig remains positive. During the
freewheeling period, S1 is OFF while S3 and S5 are ON, current
freewheels through the antiparallel diode of S2 , of S3 and of S5 ,
as shown in Fig. 5(a). VAN = 0 and VBN = VDC , and VCM
and VDM can be calculated as
VDM = VAB = VDC (15)
VDC
VCM = . (16)
2
In order to achieve zero voltage in region III, instead of turning
OFF S1 in the negative half cycle, S1 commutates complemen-
tarily to S2 to create a new current path. S1 and S3 are ON
FREDDY et al.: MODULATION TECHNIQUE FOR SINGLE-PHASE TRANSFORMERLESS PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTERS WITH REACTIVE POWER 6993

Fig. 8. Zero-voltage state of H5 inverter with proposed PWM. (a) V g is

negative and Ig is positive. (b) V g is positive and Ig is negative.

Fig. 7. Proposed switching pattern for (a) H5 and (b) HERIC.

while S2 , S4 , and S5 are OFF. Current flows through S1 and the

antiparallel diode of S3 , as shown in Fig. 8(a). VAN increases
and VBN decreases until their values reach the common point,
VDC /2. VCM and VDM become

VDM = VAB = 0 (17)

VDC
VCM = . (18)
2

In region IV, Vg is positive while Ig is negative. S3 is OFF while

S1 and S5 are ON. Current freewheels through the antiparallel
diode of S4 , of S1 and of S5 , as shown in Fig. 5(b). VAN = 0 and
VBN = VDC , and VCM and VDM can be calculated as follows:

VDM = VAB = VDC (19)

Fig. 9. Zero-voltage state of HERIC inverter with proposed PWM.
VDC (a) V g is negative and Ig is positive. (b) V g is positive and Ig is
VCM = . (20) negative.
2

Instead of turning OFF S3 in the positive half cycle, S3 com- common point, VDC /2. VCM and VDM become
mutates complementarily to S4 to achieve zero-voltage state. S1 VDM = VAB = 0 (21)
and S3 are ON while S2 , S4 and S5 are OFF, current flows through
S3 and the antiparallel diode of S1 , as shown in Fig. 8(b). VDC
VCM = . (22)
VAN increases and VBN decreases until their values reach the 2
6994 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2017

Fig. 10. Waveforms of proposed PWM under nonunity power factor

mode.

Fig. 11. Proposed PWM modulator for H5 inverter.

With proposed PWM, zero-voltage state is achieved in
region III and region IV (negative power region) by intro-
ducing a new current path. In other word, unipolar PWM grid to dc. The volt-second balance can be expressed as follows:
(+VDC , 0, VDC ) is generated, as shown in Fig. 10. It is worth
D Vg = (1 D) (VDC Vg ) (26)
noting that both S1 and S3 are ON at the same time during
zero-voltage state. This forms a bidirectional current path, i.e., Vg
D =1 . (27)
S1 with antiparallel diode of S3 , or S3 with antiparallel diode VDC
of S1 . As a result, reactive power control can be realized with
Region IV: Vg is positive and Ig is negative. The inverter
this new bidirectional current path. Furthermore, the CMV is
is working in boost operating mode. The energy is delivered
maintained at constant at VDC /2 throughout the operation, and
from grid to dc. The volt-second balance is similar to that of
thus leakage current is minimized. Therefore, H5 inverter with
region III and can be expressed as follows:
proposed modulation technique is suitable for transformerless
as well as reactive power applications. Vg
D =1 . (28)
In fact, the similar principle can be applied in HERIC inverter. VDC
As illustrated in Fig. 7(b), modulation method is proposed such
that S5 and S6 are ON at the same time during freewheeling With the proposed modulation technique, the conventional
period. A new current path is thus established and zero-voltage transformerless PV inverter is able to operate in either buck or
state can be realized during negative power region, as shown in boost operating mode. Reactive power control, therefore, can be
Fig. 9. It is worth mentioning that without any modification on realized.
the converter structures, the proposed working principles extend
the conventional inverters applications to next-generation PV C. Implementation of Proposed PWM
systems which require reactive power capability. The overall block diagram for the proposed PWM for H5
inverter is illustrated in Fig. 11. The implementation of the pro-
B. Volt-Second Balance Principle posed PWM is similar to conventional sinusoidal PWM. Only
Depending on the polarities of Vg and Ig , the principle op- additional duty cycle generators are required for each switch.
eration under reactive power operation can be categorized into The sinusoidal voltage reference (Vref ) is injected to the corre-
four regions, as illustrated in Fig. 7. sponding duty cycle generators to generate the desired voltage
Region I: Vg and Ig are positive. The inverter is working in reference for each switch,
buck operating mode. The energy is delivered from dc to the
V1 = 1 + Vref (29)
grid and the volt-second balance can be defined as follows:
V2 = Vref (30)
D (VDC Vg ) = (1 D) Vg (23)
V3 = 1 Vref (31)
Vg
D= (24)
VDC V4 = Vref (32)
where D denotes the duty cycle. V5 = |Vref | (33)
Region II: Vg and Ig are negative, the inverter is working in
buck operating mode. The energy is delivered from dc to the where V1 , V2 , V3 , V4 , and V5 are the resultant voltage references.
grid. The volt-second balance is similar to that of region I and These resultant voltage references are then compared
can be expressed as follows: with a triangular carrier wave to generate the gate signals
S1 , S2 , S3 , S4 , and S5 . The implementation of the duty cy-
Vg
D= . (25) cle generators is easy and straightforward. In other words, the
VDC proposed PWM can be easily realized in the PWM module of
Region III: Vg is negative and Ig is positive. The inverter is digital signal processor (DSP). It is worth noting that the im-
working in boost operating mode. The energy is delivered from plementation of proposed PWM for HERIC inverter is similar
FREDDY et al.: MODULATION TECHNIQUE FOR SINGLE-PHASE TRANSFORMERLESS PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTERS WITH REACTIVE POWER 6995

Fig. 12. V g and Ig (20) for H5 and HERIC inverters under unity power
factor operation. (a) Conventional PWM. (b) Proposed PWM. Fig. 14. V g and Ig (20) for H5 and HERIC inverters under lagging
power factor operation. (a) Conventional PWM. (b) Proposed PWM.

Fig. 15. Transient from unity power factor to lagging power factor for H5
inverter with proposed PWM. (a) V g and Ig (20). (b) Leakage current,
Fig. 13. V g and Ig (20) for H5 and HERIC inverters under leading IL e a ka g e .
power factor operation. (a) Conventional PWM. (b) Proposed PWM.

to that of H5 inverter. The duty cycle generators are required to

generate the desired voltage reference for each switch.

IV. SIMULATION
Simulations are carried out using MATLAB/Simulink to ana-
lyze the theoretical analysis. The dc input and the output voltages
are 400 V and 230 V/50 Hz, respectively. The stray capacitance
(CPV ) is modeled with two capacitors of 220 nF. The filters are
made up of two inductors (Lf ), each has a value of 3 mH. The
switching frequency is 10 kHz.
Fig. 16. Transient from unity power factor to lagging power factor for
Fig. 12 shows the simulated waveform of H5 and HERIC HERIC inverter with proposed PWM. (a) V g and Ig (20). (b) Leakage
inverters with conventional and proposed modulation methods current, IL e a ka g e .
under unity power operation. As expected, both methods are
working properly under unity power factor. However, the con-
ventional modulation methods are not operating correctly for leading and lagging power factor. In other words, the proposed
nonunity power factor (lagging and leading power factor). modulation methods provide H5 and HERIC inverters with re-
Current distortions are observed during negative power re- active power capability.
gion, as shown in Figs. 13(a) and 14(a). As addressed in The transient performance of the proposed PWM is studied
Section II, there is no current path for the current to flow during and the result is shown in Figs. 1518. It is clearly proven
negative power region. On the other hand, the proposed PWMs that the proposed modulation techniques are working properly
allow both H5 and HERIC inverters to operate beyond unity during the transition period for both inverters, either from unity
power factor. As shown in Figs. 13(b) and 14(b), the discussed power factor to lagging power factor as shown in Figs. 15 (H5)
inverters with proposed PWMs are operating optimally for both and 16 (HERIC), or from unity power factor to leading power
6996 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2017

Fig. 17. Transient from unity power factor to leading power factor for H5
inverter with proposed PWM. (a) V g and Ig (20). (b) Leakage current,
IL e a ka g e .

Fig. 19. V g (200V/div), Ig (5/div), and leakage current (250mA/div) for

H5 and HERIC inverters under unity power factor operation. (a) Conven-
tional PWM. (b) Proposed PWM.

Fig. 18. Transient from unity power factor to leading power factor for
HERIC inverter with proposed PWM. (a) V g and Ig (20). (b) Leakage
current, IL e a ka g e .

TABLE I
PARAMETERS OF INVERTER

Parameter Value

Input voltage, V D C 400 V

Grid, V g r i d 230 V/50 Hz
Rated power 2 kW
Switching frequency, f s 10 kHz
Dead time 2.5 s
DC-link capacitors 2200 F, V D C = 400 V
IGBT GT50J325 V C E = 600 V , I C = 60 A
Filter inductors, L 3 mH
Stray capacitors 220 nF
Controller TMS320F28335 Fig. 20. V g (200V/div), Ig (5/div) and leakage current (250 mA/div)
for H5 and HERIC inverters under leading power factor operation.
(a) Conventional PWM. (b) Proposed PWM.

factor as shown in Figs. 17 (H5) and 18 (HERIC). Furthermore,

the common-mode behaviors are compromised.
As shown in Figs. 1418, the leakage currents are minimized
and are kept within the permissible limit even during reactive
power operation. With proposed modulation techniques, both
H5 and HERIC topologies are suitable for transformerless and
reactive power applications without any modification on con-
verter structures.
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
A 2-kW universal inverter prototype was established for ex-
perimental validation of the performance analysis. The inverter
specification is the same as those of simulation, as tabulated
in Table I. Modulation techniques and control algorithms were
implemented in DSP TMS320F28335 controller.
H5 and HERIC topologies with both conventional and pro-
posed PWMs are working properly for unity power factor, as
presented in Fig. 19. Nonetheless, the conventional modulation
methods are not operating properly with nonunity power factor
as illustrated in Figs. 20(a) and 21(a) for lagging and leading
power factor, respectively. Distortions are observed at the grid
current in negative power region.
The proposed modulation techniques, on the other hand,
overcome this issue by introducing a new current path dur-
ing negative power region as discussed earlier. As illustrated
in Figs. 20(b) and 21(b), the proposed modulation methods
FREDDY et al.: MODULATION TECHNIQUE FOR SINGLE-PHASE TRANSFORMERLESS PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTERS WITH REACTIVE POWER 6997

Fig. 23. Transient from unity power factor to leading power factor for
HERIC inverter with proposed PWM: V g (200 V/div) and Ig (5/div).

Fig. 21. V g (200V/div), Ig (5/div) and leakage current (250 mA/div)

for H5 and HERIC inverters under lagging power factor operation.
(a) Conventional PWM. (b) Proposed PWM.

Fig. 24. Transient from unity power factor to lagging power factor for
H5 inverter with proposed PWM: V g (200 V/div) and Ig (5/div).

Fig. 22. Transient from unity power factor to leading power factor for
H5 inverter with proposed PWM: V g (200V/div) and Ig (5/div).

work optimally for nonunity power factor operation (leading and

lagging power factor respectively). Furthermore, the common-
mode behaviors of both H5 and HERIC inverters are not com-
promised. The leakage current is still low, keeping within the
permissible level. The transient performance of the proposed
PWMs is investigated experimentally and the results are pre-
sented in Figs. 2225. The results prove the dynamic response
of the proposed PWM, from unity power factor to nonunity
power factor. Fig. 25. Transient from unity power factor to lagging power factor for
The efficiency is measured and tabulated in Table II. The HERIC inverter with proposed PWM: V g (200 V/div) and Ig (5/div).
efficiency is calculated based on Californian Efficiency (CEC).
C E C = 0.0410% + 0.0520% + 0.1230% + 0.2150%
96.56% and 96.02% for HERIC inverter, as illustrated in
+ 0.5375% + 0.05100% . (34)
Fig. 26. As compared to conventional PWM, the proposed PWM
has slightly lower efficiency due to additional switch counts.
The calculated CEC for conventional and proposed PWMs Despite additional switch counts, the proposed PWM provides
are 95.75% and 95.43%, respectively, for H5 inverter, and both H5 and HERIC inverters with reactive power capability,
6998 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 64, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2017
TABLE II
MEASURED EFFICIENCY OF THE DISCUSSED TOPOLOGIES
Output Power 10% 20%
200 W 400 W
H5 with conventional PWM 90.9% 93.1%
H5 with proposed PWM 90.2% 92.7%
HERIC with conventional PWM 92.2% 95.2%
HERIC with proposed PWM 91.2% 93.6%
Fig. 26. Measured efficiency for conventional and proposed modula-
tion techniques.
without any modification of the converter structures. This makes
the PV inverter design to be cost-effective and simple.
VI. CONCLUSION
In this paper, the general principles of reactive power gen-
eration for single-phase transformerless PV inverter were un-
derpinned. In order to generate reactive power, a new current
path is required in order to achieve zero-voltage state during
negative power region. Based on the analysis, modulation tech-
niques were proposed which provides bidirectional current path
during freewheeling period. As a result, reactive power control
is realized in H5 and HERIC inverters, without any modification
on the converter structures. Furthermore, the common-mode be-
havior of which is not compromised. The CMV is maintained at
constant which helps to suppress the leakage current. The over-
all performance was verified via simulation and experimental
investigation. The results prove that with the proposed modu-
lation method, H5 and HERIC inverters are suitable for trans-
formerless and reactive power applications. The similar prin-
ciples can be extended other single-phase transformerless PV
inverter topologies. In short, the proposed working principles ex-
tend the conventional inverters applications to next-generation
PV systems which require reactive power capability.
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Tan Kheng Suan Freddy received the B.Eng.
degree in electrical engineering from Multimedia
University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia, in 2010, and the
Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
in 2015.
He is currently a Lecturer at the Asia Pacific
University of Technology and Innovation (APU),
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Prior to APU, he was a
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the UM Power
Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre, University
of Malaya. He was a Visiting Research Scholar in the Power Electronics
Laboratory, Ajou University, Suwon, South Korea. His research interests
include power electronics converters, renewable energy, and smart grids.
Dr. Freddy received the ASEAN-Korea Exchange Fellowship Award.
June-Hee Lee (S17) was born in South Korea.
He received the B.S. degree in electronic en-
gineering from Ajou University, Suwon, South
Korea, in 2013, where he is currently working
toward the Ph.D. degree in electronic engineer-
ing.
His research interests include power conver-
sion and grid-connected systems.
Hyun-Cheol Moon (S16) was born in South
Korea. He received the B.S. degree in electronic
engineering from Ajou University, Suwon, South
Korea, in 2016, where he is currently working to-
ward the M.S. degree in electronic engineering.
His research interests include power conver-
sion and grid-connected systems.
6999
Kyo-Beum Lee (S02M04SM10) received
the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical and
electronic engineering from Ajou University,
Suwon, South Korea, in 1997 and 1999, re-
spectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electri-
cal engineering from Korea University, Seoul,
South Korea, in 2003.
From 2003 to 2006, he was with the Insti-
tute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University,
Aalborg, Denmark. From 2006 to 2007, he was
with the Division of Electronics and Information
Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, South Korea. In 2007,
he joined the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ajou
University. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON
POWER ELECTRONICS, Journal of Power Electronics, and Journal of Elec-
trical Engineering and Technology. His research interests include elec-
tric machine drives, renewable power generations, and electric vehicle
applications.
Nasrudin Abd Rahim (M89SM08) received
the B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in electrical electronic
engineering and the M.Sc. degree in electrical
power engineering from the University of Strath-
clyde, Glasgow, U.K., and the Ph.D. degree from
HeriotWatt University, Edinburgh, U.K., in 1995.
He is currently a Professor with the Univer-
sity of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where
he is also the Director and founder of the rec-
ognized Higher Institution Centre of Excellence
(HiCoE) under the Ministry of Higher Education,
University of Malaya (UM) Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre
(UMPEDAC). He is also a Distinguished Adjunct Professor with the
Renewable Energy Research Group, King Abdulaziz University, Jed-
dah, Saudi Arabia. His research interests include power electronics,
solar photovoltaic technologies, real-time control systems, and electrical
drives, and he has published over 300 technical papers in journals and
international conference proceedings.
Prof. Ir. Dr. Rahim is a Chartered Engineer in the U.K. and a Fellow of
the Institution of Engineering and Technology, U.K., and of the Academy
of Sciences Malaysia. He is also a Professional Engineer of the Board
of Engineers Malaysia.