A NEW LOW-COST MODULAR INVERTER USING ADVANCED ASIC CONTROL: Rigorous performance tests result in rapid adaptation to market demands

摘要

Laboratory tests on a new modular inverter using an application-specific integrated circuit are discussed. The inverter design is optimised for Ascom's large-scale telecom production facilities. The ASIC is developed by means of sophisticated simulation tools and is the key controlling unit in the design. The electrical properties of the inverter, such as efficiency of power conversion, quality of delivered energy and behaviour of a large number of inverters in parallel are tested by the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). Special attention is paid to the behaviour of inverters in parallel in relation to harmonic distortion, to estimate the effect of large-scale PV integration. This design process resulted in a rapid adaptation to market demands for a new low-cost inverter and brought the final user price below one EUD/W and the warranty period to ten-years.