Smart Derating of Switching Devices for Designing More Reliable PV Inverters
Translated title
Author
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2014
Submitted on
2014-06-02
Pages
83
Abstract
The increasing reliability performance of next generation Photovoltaic inverters has been sparked across the entire world, which tends to guarantee up to 20 years lifetime. Switching devices have become a key topic in terms of reliability and cost, which lifetime is not easy predictable and measurable to date. This project investigates the reliability analysis of IGBTs by taking into account the long-term mission profiles (solar irradiance and ambient temperature) and the relevant parameter variations. The outcome is a design procedure that can be applied to estimate the reliability of different IGBT solutions for Photovoltaic inverters with a certain confidence level. Thus, Photovoltaic inverter designers can select the most cost-effective IGBTs based on the cost information and the reliability specifications, avoiding either lack of robustness or over-design with unnecessary cost increase.
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