TITLE:
Comparison between SiC- and Si-Based Inverters for Photovoltaic Power Generation Systems
AUTHORS:
Yuji Ando, Yasuhiro Shirahata, Takeo Oku, Taisuke Matsumoto, Yuya Ohishi, Masashi Yasuda, Akio Shimono, Yoshikazu Takeda, Mikio Murozono
KEYWORDS:
Silicon Carbide, Solar Cell, Inverter, Photovoltaic Device, Maximum Power Point Tracking, Lithium-Ion Battery
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Power and Energy Engineering,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
13,
2017
ABSTRACT: 100-W class power storage systems were developed, which comprised spherical Si solar cells, a maximum power point tracking charge control-ler, a lithium-ion battery, and one of two different types of direct current (DC)-alter- nating current (AC) converters. One inverter used SiC met-al-oxide-semicon-ductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) as switching devices while the other used Si MOSFETs. In these 100-W class inverters, the ON resistance was considered to have little influence on the efficiency. Nevertheless, the SiC-based inverter exhibited an approximately 3% higher DC-AC conversion efficiency than the Si-based inverter. Power loss analysis indicated that the higher efficiency resulted predominantly from lower switching and reverse recovery losses in the SiC MOSFETs compared with in the Si MOSFETs.