IJSTE - International Journal of Science Technology & Engineering | Volume 2 | Issue 12 | June 2016

ISSN (online): 2349-784X

Design and Implementation of Reactive Power

Management for Solar Photovoltaic Inverter in
Low Voltage Distribution System
P. Uma Maheswari
ME Scholar
Department of Power Systems Engineering
Kalaignarkarunanidhi Institute of Technology Coimbatore,
India

Dr. P. Anbalagan
Director & Head of Dept.
Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Kalaignarkarunanidhi Institute of Technology Coimbatore,
India

Abstract
Distributed Energy (DE) Systems have been receiving wide acceptance during the last decade. With increasing concern of global
warming and the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, many are looking at sustainable energy solutions to preserve the earth for the
future generations. Other than hydro power, wind and photovoltaic (PV) energy holds the most potential to meet our energy
demands. The grid connected solar PV inverters able to provide the reactive power to the low voltage distribution system.
Reactive power capability of the solar photovoltaic inverter is depending upon the inverters rating and the solar power
generation. This paper aim to design and implementation of reactive power management for solar photovoltaic inverter in low
voltage distribution system. This strategy can be applied for various solar power generating conditions (no solar power
generation, low solar power generation, maximum solar power generation, cloudy period).The objective of the project is to
maintain the constant voltage level and to provide the fast reactive power control in low voltage distribution system. During no
and low solar power generation, the inverter inject reactive power and support the voltage by using Dynamic VAR compensation
mode. During maximum solar power generation, the inverter absorbs reactive power and there by mitigating voltage rise using
Droop characteristics approach. During passing clouds, the inverter will inject reactive power and reduce the voltage fluctuation
using Ramp rate control. The proposed technique is done with the help of PIC microcontroller 16F887A and it is tested in
hardware setup. The results show that the solar photovoltaic inverter can be used for reducing the voltage fluctuation and
improve the voltage profile in various solar power generating conditions.
Keywords: Low voltage distribution system, PIC microcontroller 16F887A, Reactive power management, Solar power
generation, Solar PV inverter, Voltage control
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I.

INTRODUCTION

Recently, the grid connected solar photovoltaic inverter is used to manage the reactive power in low voltage distribution system
& the focus was entirely on energy harvest and active power production of the solar PV system [1]-[6]. Reactive power
capability of an inverter is limited by the current carrying capacity of semiconductor switches. When the real power injection is
less than this inverter rated power, remaining capacity of power can be utilized for the reactive power supply / absorption [2].
Several strategies have been proposed in the literature for reactive power management of PV inverters, such as Q-V droop [7],
[8], [15], power factor control [8], [11], [15], and voltage control [8], [11], [18].The Q-V droop is a widely used strategy where
the amount of reactive power consumption is determined from a droop characteristic between the point of common coupling
(PCC) voltage and the PV inverter reactive power. In the power factor control approach, the reactive power output is determined
using the active power output and the desired power factor of the inverter. A reactive power control strategy based on the
inverter active power is used [17], [18] for voltage rise mitigation in coordination with an energy storage unit. A combination of
voltage and active power generation based Q-V droop characteristic has been proposed [6] for the mitigation of voltage rise.
During cloudy periods, the solar PV generation is subject to PV output fluctuations that cause rapid voltage variations [2],
particularly in weak radial systems. A solar PV inverter is used to reduce the voltage fluctuation by using reactive power support.
Steep voltage changes may create voltage flicker in low voltage distribution systems that can cause objectionable flicker in the
illumination devices and may also cause hunting of upstream voltage control devices [10].
The contribution of this paper is the development of a multimode reactive power control strategy that can provide an
appropriate reactive power support to meet various conditions associated with solar power generation, including the absence of
solar power generation in the night and the high ramp rate operation during passing cloud. A dynamic reactive power control
approach is proposed for reactive power support during no, low solar power generation depending on the power drawn from the
grid by the loads. Instead of using a droop characteristics approach, a reverse power flow versus reactive power droop
characteristic is proposed for voltage rise mitigation during the maximum solar power generation. A strategy based on PV output
ramp-rate is proposed for reactive power control during the cloud passing solar power generation. A coordinated control strategy

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is developed for smooth mode transition [14] among the control modes, such as the transition from maximum PV power to low
PV power during passing clouds, so that high and unwanted step changes in reactive power can be avoided. The proposed
strategy will therefore provide a better performance under diverse conditions of solar power generation compared to other
traditional strategies.
II. PROTOTYPE MODEL OF REACTIVE POWER MANAGEMENT FOR SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTER
Fig 4. shows the block diagram of design and implementation of reactive power management for solar photovoltaic system. It
consists of 100 W, 12 V solar panel generates electricity in DC form.The DCDC converter is used for convert unregulated DC
input voltage into a regulated DC output voltage. This can be achieved by changing the switching frequency of MOSFET
switches. It can also be converted as switched mode regulators and 12 V lead acid battery is used to store the DC electricity. But
many appliances need AC power for their operation. Therefore the inverter is used to convert DC to AC electricity achieved by
changing the switching frequency of MOSFET. The AC output from inverter is connected to 40 W choke load.

Fig. 4: Block diagram of reactive power management for solar photovoltaic inverter

Due to inductive nature of load voltage drop is produced. The reactive power capability of the solar photovoltaic inverter is
used to maintain the constant voltage level and provide the fast reactive power control under various solar power generating
conditions (no solar power generation, low solar power generation, maximum solar power generation and cloudy period). The
feedback supply voltage is taken and it is given to PIC micro controller 16F877A. The controller which cannot directly control
switches give analog signals to driver circuit. Gate driver circuit helps in controlling ON/OFF status of switches of MOSFET.

Fig. 5: Experimental Setup of Reactive Power Management for Solar Photovoltaic Inverter

In this method the reactive power management for solar photovoltaic inverter has been implemented using PIC
microcontroller (PIC16F877A). The volt/var control technique has been implemented to control the power electronic switches of
solar PV inverter are shown in Fig 5.

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Design and Implementation of Reactive Power Management for Solar Photovoltaic Inverter in Low Voltage Distribution System
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In low and no solar power generation the both temperature and irradiance level are low, at the time the battery is switched on
and discharging due to the battery control circuit. The DC-DC converter is used to regulate the DC voltage. The inverter is used
to convert DC to AC electricity and supply to the load. If the inverter power is not sufficient to supply the load, the remaining
amount of power is drawn from grid to load. If the load create voltage drop in the low voltage distribution system, the inverter
will inject reactive power and support the voltage with the help of battery.
In maximum solar power generation the both temperature and irradiance level are high, at the time the battery is switched on and
charging due to the battery control circuit. The DC-DC converter is used to adjust the battery voltage. The inverter is used to
convert DC to AC electricity and supply to the load. If the inverter power is maximum compared to the load, the voltage rise
created in the low voltage distribution. The inverter will absorb reactive power and reduce the voltage rise in low voltage
distribution with the help of battery.
In cloud solar power generation the both temperature and irradiance level are low due to the cloud passing. This solar power
generation will create voltage fluctuation in low voltage distribution. At the time the battery is switched on and discharging due
to the battery control circuit. The DC-DC converter is used to regulate the DC voltage. In this case the battery is used to reduce
the voltage fluctuation. The inverter is used to convert DC to AC electricity and supply to the load. If the inverter power is not
sufficient to the load, the remaining amount of power is drawn from grid to load. The inverter will inject reactive power and
reduce the voltage fluctuation in Low voltage distribution with the help of battery.
Components Description
Solar Panel:
A Photovoltaic (PV) system directly converts sunlight into electricity. The basic device of a PV system is the PV cell. Cells may
be grouped to form panels or arrays. A photovoltaic cell is basically a semiconductor diode whose pn junction is exposed to
light. The incidence of light on the cell generates charge carriers that originate an electric current if the cell is short
circuited.Photovoltaic cells are made of several types of semiconductors using different manufacturing processes The
specification of solar panel is shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Specifications of Solar Panel
Power
100 W
Open CircuitVoltage (Voc)
21.6 V
ShortCircuitCutrrent (Isc)
6.20 A
Voltage At MaxPower
17 V
(Vmp)
Current At Max Power
5.89 A
(Imp)
Type
Monocrystalline
Size
1097.88mm*670.56mm*35.35mm

Buck Boost Converter:

The buckboost converter is a type of DC-to-DC converter that has an output voltage magnitude that is either greater than or less
than the input voltage magnitude. Two different topologies are called buckboost converter. In this paper the buck boost
converter is controlled by using the gate signals which is produced by comparing reference signal & carrier signal. This
converter is used for both battery storage and grid connection of solar photovoltaic inverter.
Maximum Power Point Tracker:
In this paper, the Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) will be implemented by using a microcontroller that is programmed to
execute the desired algorithm. The program will control the charge controller of the PV array by sensing the panel voltage (V)
and current (I) and the battery voltage of to determine the single operating point where the values of current (I) and voltage (V)
result in a maximum power output. This is the Maximum Power Point (MPP).The goal of the MPPT is to match the impedance
of the battery to the optimal impedance of the panel (20). This paper, therefore, chooses a method Perturb and Observe algorithm
for digital control for MPPT. The design and implementation of MPPT will be done on the premise that is going to be built with
a microcontroller.
Battery:
This paper deals with 12 V lead acid batteries to be used in a solar system. A lead-acid battery is a electrical storage device that
uses a reversible chemical reaction to store energy. Compared to other PV batteries the lead-acid battery is longer life, fast
charging capability and less maintenance.
Single Phase Inverter:
Inverters that take DC and produce constant amplitude sinusoidal output (AC). As power transistors became more feasible, most
low to medium power inverter systems replaced the SCR with the MOSFET or the IGBT. The pulse width modulation (PWM)
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has been done in attempt to reduce the passive filter size and create a better sinusoidal output, thus reducing harmonics. In this
paper the inverter is controlled by using switching operation of MOSFET.
Traditionally, solar power inverters were intentionally designed to feed as much active power P (kW) as was available from the
solar array at unity power factor into the point of common coupling (PCC). More recently, utilities and independent power
providers have shown tremendous interest in the inverters capability to also absorb and provide reactive power Q (kVAR) from
and to the grid. The solar power inverters reactive power capability to also absorb and provide reactive power from and to the
grid. The solar PV inverter is running below its rated output current when converting DC solar power to AC active power. The
unused capacity of the inverter can then be put to use to produce reactive power. The output of a solar PV inverter has both
reactive and active AC currents that add to the apparent power which will be limited by the current rating of the inverter. Active
power control is tied to controlling grid frequency, whereas reactive power control is linked with controlling the grid voltage
(11).
Driver Circuit:
Driver circuit is used to control another circuit or component, such as a high-power transistor, liquid crystal display (LCD), and
numerous others. They are usually used to regulate current flowing through a circuit or is used to control the other factors such as
other components, some devices in the circuit. For example, for a specialized integrated circuit that controls high-power switches
in switched-mode power converters. In this paper driver circuit is used for control the DC DC converter switches and inverter
switches.
Impedance Circuit:
In electronics impedance matching is the practice of designing the electrical load or output impedance of its corresponding signal
source to maximize the power transfer or minimize the signal reflection from the load.
Controller Circuit:
In this paper, the Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) will be implemented by using a microcontroller that is programmed to
execute the desired algorithm. The goal of the MPPT is to match the impedance of the battery to the optimal impedance of the
panel. After taking the measurements of voltage and current, and decides the tracking algorithm (Perturb and Observe) which is
the heart of the MPPT controller. The algorithm that is used is written using C# programming language on an interface known as
Micro C... The microcontroller that will be used in this system is PIC16F877A.
Load:
Electrical ballast is nothing but a simple high current, mains voltage inductor made by winding number of turns of copper wire
over laminated iron core. In installations consisting of a large number of tubes, it is necessary to provide compensation to
improve the power factor.In this paper 40 W choke load is used.
III. RESULT ANALYSIS OF REACTIVE POWER MANAGEMENT FOR SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC INVERTER
In this method the reactive power management for solar photovoltaic inverter has been modeled in PIC micro controller
16F877A. The solar PV inverter is running below its rated output current when converting DC solar power to AC active power.
The unused capacity of the inverter can then be put to use to produce reactive power. The output of a solar PV inverter has both
reactive and active AC currents that add to the apparent power which will be limited by the current rating of the inverter. Active
power control is tied to controlling grid frequency, whereas reactive power control is linked with controlling the grid voltage
[14].The reference voltage is fixed 50 V.

Fig 6.Output Voltage Waveform Of Without Reactive Power Control

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Fig 7.Output Voltage Waveform Of With Reactive Power Control

Fig.6 shows voltage wave form without any control scheme. It is clear from figure the voltage is reduced from 50 V to 33
V.Fig.7 shows voltage wave form with reactive power control scheme. It is clear from figure the voltage is maintained to 48 V
(near 50 V).
S.No
1.
2.

Status Of The Controller

Without Reactive Power Control Scheme
With Reactive Power Control Scheme

Table 2
Nature of the output waveform
Wave Form Nature
Voltage Drop And Fluctuates Waveform
To Maintain The Constant Voltage Waveform

Results
50 V is reduced to 33 V
50 V is maintained to 48 V (near 50 V)

Table 2 Shows The Comparison of Two Various Approaches. The Voltage Value is Maintained to 48 V With Reactive Power
Control Scheme. It provides better performance compared to other control scheme.
IV. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a solar photovoltaic inverter based reactive power management system has been implemented to the low voltage
distribution system under various solar power generating conditions (no solar power generation, low solar power generation,
maximum solar power generation, cloud passing solar power generation). The hardware results demonstrate the assessed in terms
of their contributions towards regulating the voltage in low voltage distribution system. Investigations are carried out to this
approach for capable of regulating the voltage during various solar power generating conditions. The solar photovoltaic inverter
can be used to manage the reactive power and maintain the distribution system voltage.
The solar photovoltaic inverter which is used to manage the reactive power to the low voltage distribution system during
various solar power generating conditions and regulating voltage at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) are investigated. The
system operation is supervised by a reactive power management strategy based on the dynamic control of inverter while a PIC
micro controller 16F877A is also implemented to reduce voltage variations at PCC.
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