PROPOSAL ON

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A 1.5KVA INVERTER

BY

INETIANBOR OLUSEGUN NIGEL ENG1303534

GRANDEUR DAVID ENG13035

DEPT. OF ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

BACHELORS DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS

EnGINEERING (B.Eng)

PROJECT SUPERVISOR: ENGR. F.O AGBONTAEN/ ENGR. T.A AIKA

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 INTRODUCTION

An inverter is an electronic device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC).
The converted AC can be at any required voltage and frequency with the use of appropriate
transformers, switching and control circuit. It’s simply put, an electronic box that makes
household electricity for everyday items. It converts power from e.g car batteries, windmills,
solar panels or fuel cells, then turns it into normal household power. That is, it supplies AC
power from DC source. Solid state inverters have no moving parts and are used in a wide range
of applications, from small switching power supplies in computers, to large electric utility high
voltage direct current applications that transport bulk power. The Inverter performs the opposite
function at a rectifier.

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The quest to convert D.C. power to A.C power to run some essential appliances results due to
erratic power supply being experience. Although, between the 19th century to mid 20th century,
D.C. to AC power conversion was accomplished using rotary converters or motor generator set
(M-G set). In early 20th century, vacuum tubes and gas filled tubes began to be used as switches
in inverter circuit. In contrast the early A.C. to D.C. converters used an induction or synchronous
a.c motor directly connected to a generator (dynamo) so that the generator’s commutator reverses
its connections at exactly the right moments to produce D.C.

Considering the above reasons, for the study, many electrical equipments have either developed
a problem or even stopped working entirely. As a result, many businesses have been crippled
thereby affecting the economy as a whole with respect to Nigeria

Again, power disturbances occurrence are on increase resulting to high voltage spikes and
momentary voltage drops, this often affect the performance of sensitive electrical electronics
equipment.

The epileptic supply of electric power can not be over-emphasized in Nigeria presently, this has
become the order of the day and many Nigerians now presume power outages as a normal
routine in the power sector. There are factors responsible for this ugly situation such as natural

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disasters, vandalism, maintainability, sustainability, inadequacy and lack of vision by the
political leaders to invest adequately in power sector, also absence of replacement policy
resulting in absolute abandon of electrical equipment or project, unsustainable human capacity
and inadequate and remuneration system to motivate human resources term to perform well on
their course

The progress made some decades ago in developing alternate source of energy has proved that
independent power system are not only possible but as well practical. A wide variety of
generating equipment is now available to allow individuals take advantage of any prefer
renewable resources of energy. Most of these systems produce only direct current (DC) for a
number of reasons and at low voltages. However, it is well known that the alternating current is
the greatest and most useful form of current being generated by the power grid due to its
advantages over direct current. Thus, most of the appliances and equipment are built using a.c.
input source.

Therefore, there arises the need for converting direct current (DC) to an alternating current
(A.C.) having a constant frequency. This process is known as inverting.

Inverters come in different types:

Modified Sine Wave:

The output of a modified sine wave inverter is similar to square wave output except that the
output goes to zero Volts for a time before switching positive or negative. It is simple and low
cost, also it’s compatible with most electronic devices, except for sensitive or specialized
equipment for example certain laser printers, fluorescent lighting, audio equipment. Most AC
motors will run off this power source about at a reduction inefficiency of approximately 20%.

Pure Sine Wave:

This produces a nearly perfect sine wave output (<3% total harmonic distortion) that is
essentially the same as utility –supplied grid power. Thus it is compatible with all AC electronic
devices. This is the type used in grid tie inverts. Its design is more complex, and costs more per
unit power. The electrical inverter is a high power electronic oscillator. It is so named because

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early mechanical AC to PC converters were made to work in reserve and thus were “inverted” to
convert DC to AC.

Grid Tie Inverter:

The grid tie inverter is a sine wave inverter designed to inject electricity into the electric power
distribution system. Such inverter must synchronize with the frequency of the grid. They
usually contain one or more maximum power point tracking features to extract the maximum
amount of power, and also include safety features.

CONSTRUCTION

It is designed in such a way that it will take up 12v DC from battery and inverts it to an output of
2KVA, 220v, 50Hz AC.

Block diagram of working inverter circuit.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

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The objective of this project is to design and construct a 1.5 KVA inverter which can be powered
from the source of 12V battery which incorporated its battery charger. The battery charger is
used to charge 12 volts battery. This inverter is capable of operating a wide variety of loads;
electronic and household items including but not limited to TV, VCR, and satellite receiver,
computers, and printers.The study intends:

i) To design an electrical system that converts d.c. power to a.c. power to drive various
appliances used in the laboratories, theatres, rural areas etc.

ii) To have a source of generating electricity that has no negative effect on the environment (i.e.
no greenhouse effect).

iii) To provide an exposition to the HND students to simple electrical design, analysis and
building of circuits.

iv) To provide a noiseless and weightless source of electricity generation.

v) The study will also serve as a means of impacting practical knowledge and skills to students,
lecturers and other who may wish to acquaint themselves with the principles of operation of an
inverter system.

SIGNIFICANCE/RELEVANCE

Inverter works noiselessly. Inverters provided completely automatic switch over function. When
the mains supply fails the inverter immediately switches the output to its internal battery and
when the mains supply returns the inverter shuts down its operation and provides the mains AC
supply-at its output. Inverter does not require any special starting process and the switching of
output from mains to inverter and inverter to mains is done automatically. Inverter does not
require any special starting process and the switching of output from mains to inverter and
inverter to mains is done automatically. Inverter works on battery which works noiselessly
without producing any 'smell or other harmful emissions etc. As the inverter is an electrical
device it does not require any special maintenance. Only the battery used with the inverter will
require some routine service such as topping it with distill water once in 15-20 days.

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BUDGET

ITEM PRICE QUANTITY TOTAL DESCRIPTION

MOSFETS #500 12 #6000 POWER

AMPLIFICATION
(IRF150N)

TRANSFORMER #5000 1 #5000 MANUALLY

RECOILED

AUTOCOUPLER #100 3 #300

(4N35)

LM324 #200 4 #800 LOW BATTERY

CUTOFF

SG2435 #300 2 #600 OSCILLATOR

VERO BOARD #800 2 #1600

HEAT SINK #2000 2 #4000

SOLDERING #700 2 #1400 40W

IRON

MULTIMETER #1500 1 #1500

BREAD BOARD #1200 4 #4800

Resistors, Diodes, #4000

Transistors

LEDs #500

TOTAL #30500

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BATTERY

PROBLEMS

1. Expensive when compared to traditional generators.

2. There are no large capacity inverters in the markets compared to conventional generators.
3. The output supply depends wholly on the input source, which means that the inverter will
stop working whenever the battery which is the input goes low.

REFERENCES

1. Owen, Edward L. (January–February 1996). "Origins of the Inverter". IEEE Industry

Applications Magazine: History Department. IEEE. 2 (1): 64–66

2. D. R. Grafham and J. C. Hey, editors, ed. (1972). SCR Manual (Fifth ed.). Syracuse, N.Y.
USA: General Electric. pp. 236–239.

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3.Bedford, B. D.; Hoft, R. G.; et al. (1964). Principles of Inverter Circuits . New York: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.ISBN 0-471-06134-4 .

4. Rodriguez, Jose; et al. (August 2002). "Multilevel Inverters: A Survey of Topologies,

Controls, and Applications". IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. IEEE. 49 (4): 724–
738.

5. Taylor-Moon, Jonathan (2013). "Alabama Engineering University, Invertors, Prof.dr.Eng.

Jonathan Taylor - Moon | Power Inverter.

6. Crompton, T. R. (2000-03-20). Battery Reference Book (third ed.). Newnes. p. Glossary 3.

ISBN 0080499953.

7. Deep cycle battery guide . Energy Matters . Retrieved 3 February 2009.