Overvoltage protection for DC link in microinverters

Photovoltaic systems are an important solution to provide electrical energy to isolated loads. Microinverters manage the energy harvested from photovoltaic panels; therefore, to ensure the correct operation of microinverters is essential to extract the energy properly. This paper presents the implementation of an overvoltage protection circuit to secure the passive elements and power switches in microinverters. The overvoltage protector avoids the damage due to high voltage stress on the elements and allows a restarting when the correct operation is guaranteed. Experimental results validate the proper behavior of the proposed system in different situations.

I. Introduction

The photovoltaic (PV) systems are a growing technology used to generate electrical energy from renewable resources as the energy given by the sun in the form of irradiance and heat [1].