Novel virtual-ground single-phase buck-boost inverter

Due to variations in irradiance, temperature, and shading effect, the terminal voltages of photovoltaic panels are variable and therefore buck-boost inverters are required. This article presents a new buck-boost voltage-source inverter (VSI) topology. The proposed VSI is transformerless and has virtual-ground feature, which in terms mitigate the common-mode voltage issue of transformerless inverters and thus resulting in low leakage current. Detailed circuit analysis is provided based on the proposed modulation strategy in which four switches operate at line frequency and hence high power conversion efficiency can be realized. Furthermore, experimental results are provided with 500 W prototype in support of theoretical analysis and effectiveness of the proposed inverter.