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Inverter AC Power Supplies


Inverter AC Power Supplies

Articles Index
Main Index
Contents

Introduction

1 - Inverter Overview

2 - Squarewave Inverters

3 - Modified Squarewave Inverters

4 - Modified Sinewave Inverters

5 - Pure Sinewave Inverters

6 - Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)


o 6.1 - High Voltage PWM

7 - Oscillators

8 - Regulation

9 - Transformers

Conclusion

References

Introduction
Inverters are used in all kinds of places and for all kinds of reasons. One very common
application is to convert 12V from a car DC outlet to 230 or 120V AC to power small
appliances. These are very common, especially with travellers with motor-homes or

caravans. Another is for 'uninterruptible' backup supplies (UPS - uninterruptible power


supply) for computers, either in the home or in large data centres. Inverters are also
used with solar systems and wind generators, with some being very large and powerful
indeed. This article only looks at the technologies commonly used for small and medium
power systems - those up to a few hundred watts, but the techniques used can be
scaled to almost any power level.
The basic requirements and the most common types are described. It is not meant to
provide a design process, but to inform the reader what the various terms mean, how
different types of inverter interact with common appliances, and how they work. There
are many aspects of the design process that are far too complex to attempt to explain in
detail however, so don't expect to see every possible variation described in full.
Please note that waveforms and voltages are shown based on 50Hz and 230V RMS
output. 60Hz 120V systems use identical technology, and simply use a transformer with
a different turns ratio and a 60Hz oscillator. DC input current is virtually unchanged for a
given output power. While a 60Hz inverter can theoretically use a slightly smaller
transformer than a 50Hz unit, the difference is so small that it can be ignored for all
practical purposes.
Circuit examples show MOSFETs used for switching, but many high power inverters use
IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) because they are more rugged and are
designed for very high current operation. Some budget inverters may use standard
bipolar transistors if they are only low power, because they are cheaper than the
alternatives.
1 - Inverter Overview
The idea of an inverter is simple enough. We use an oscillator to generate the required
frequency (50 or 60Hz), and use that as the input to a power amplifier. Because the
amplifier's working voltage is generally fairly low (typically 12 or 24V DC), a transformer
is used to step up the voltage to 230V or 120V as required. Most inverters will use the
transformer as part of the power amplifier itself, because this makes the overall design
much simpler, especially for modified squarewave designs.
Let's assume that the circuit is 100% efficient just for the moment. This makes
calculations nice and simple, and also gives us a rough idea of what the final circuit has
to be able to do in real life. 12V DC is a very common input voltage, and this is suited
for use in cars, motor homes and for computer UPS applications. The first thing we now
need to know is how much output power do we need. For the sake of the exercise, let's
assume 1,000W (1kW).
To obtain 1kW at 120V requires an output current of 8.33A, or 4.35A at 230V.
Unfortunately, 1kW at 12V means that we need 83.33A from the battery, ignoring all
losses. If you wanted to be able to provide 1kW for 1 hour, you'll quickly discover that

you need a 12V battery rated at around 120AH (amp hours). Lead-acid batteries are the
most economical choice for a UPS, and that's what you already have in the car (make
sure that you don't fully discharge the battery). Lead-acid batteries (including gel-cell
and AGM types) provide a reduced capacity if they are discharged quickly. For example,
a 120AH battery will usually only provide its claimed capacity if discharged at the 10
hour rate (i.e. 10 hours at a current of 12A for a 120AH battery). Higher discharge
current means that the capacity of the battery is reduced.
The above current requirements refer only to the RMS output current (AC), and the
average input current (DC). For 230V output from a 12V source, the average DC input
is typically around 20 times the RMS output current for a modified squarewave inverter.
DC input current is higher than the rough calculation, because it must include an
allowance for losses in the system. In reality it is wise to lower your expectations.
It's probably fair to say that inverters are a fairly evil load for any battery, especially if
you expect more than a few watts output. It's equally fair to say that the output
of any inverter that isn't a sinewave ('pure' sinewave) is also a pretty evil source for a
great many loads. It's not even possible to give a list, because so many loads are now
electronically controlled. Once electronics is involved with a load (especially motors and
transformers), it's only possible to know what's involved if you have detailed
specifications and/or a circuit diagram.
Some products might state whether they are suitable for use with various inverters, but
most don't. Most switch mode power supplies will be happy enough, but they may be
subjected to higher peak current than normal if the input is not a sinewave. PCs should
be alright - they are the very load that most UPS systems are designed for. If in doubt,
seek advice from the appliance manufacturer.
Inverters are commonly classified by their output waveform, so you will typically see the
following types offered ...
1. Pure Sinewave
Note that 'modified sinewave' and 'modified squarewave' inverters are actually quite
different, but it's common for the two to be lumped together and the terms used
interchangeably. This is partly because there is no strict definition of the terms, and
advertising material is notorious for bending the rules to make a product seem more
appealing. Claiming that an inverter is modified sinewave sounds much better than
saying it's modified squarewave - particularly for people who have a little knowledge of
such things. The three most common types have their waveforms shown below. In each
case the RMS value of the voltage waveform is 230V, but only the modified squarewave
and sinewave types maintain the correct peak voltage of 325V.

Figure 1 - Inverter Waveforms, All 50Hz, 230V RMS

.
6 - Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for Pure Sinewave
PWM is the technology of choice for maximum efficiency and a clean sinewave output.
The modulation frequency should be high enough to ensure no-one can hear it, which
typically means at least 25kHz. Lower frequencies can be used, but the noise from the
transformer or filter inductor may be intolerable and the filter components will be larger
and more expensive. There are countless chip-sets available for making PWM circuits,
and it's not difficult to get very high performance with high efficiency. It's possible to get
a properly designed Class-D amplifier to have an efficiency of between 80% and 90%,
but there will also be transformer losses that must be considered.
For power output of more than perhaps 200W, the Class-D amplifier will almost certainly
use discrete components. IC amplifiers are available that can do more, but an inverter is
a special case when it comes to the load. Many common loads will present close to a
short-circuit when first powered on (motors, toroidal transformers and simple mains
rectifier-filter capacitor power supplies for example), and this causes extreme stress on
the amplifier.
For an output of 500W (for example) at 230V, the load impedance is 106 ohms. Since
the transformer will need a 1:30 ratio (1:900 impedance ratio), the effective load on the
power amplifier is only 118m - 0.118 ohm! This is an extraordinarily low impedance,
and gives you an idea of the kind of load experienced. Remember that this can drop to
almost zero, limited only by the resistance of the transformer windings, and so far has
only considered a resistive load. There's more info on the transformer ratios below. To
combat the high losses experienced at such low impedances, it's wise (and more

efficient) to include a boost converter to increase the available 12V to something more
manageable. Naturally, there will be losses involved in the boost converter, but with
careful design they will be less than the losses incurred without it.
To examine the processes needed for a Class-D power amp for inverters, I suggest that
you read the Texas Instruments application note [2]. This recommends the use of a 'trilevel' PWM waveform, generated by dedicated logic and uses a bridged output stage. A
highly simplified explanation is shown here as well, and I expect that it will be somewhat
easier to understand. It's also worth looking at the Class-D article on the ESP website
[3].

Figure 8 - Derivation Of PWM (Blue) From Input (Red) And Reference (Green)

Generating the PWM waveform is (at least in theory) delightfully simple. A sinewave is
fed into one input of a comparator, and a linear triangle waveform into the other. When
the signal voltage is greater than the reference, the output of the comparator is high and
vice versa. The comparator output will look like the blue trace in Figure 8. Being a
simple on/off waveform, it's easy to amplify and the original sinewave can be
reconstructed using a relatively simple inductor/capacitor (LC) filter. Naturally, reality is
different. Dedicated chipsets that are available to generate PWM signals will generally
give far better results than discrete ICs, and will provide much of the other support
functions as well. These include MOSFET gate drivers and cycle-by-cycle current
limiting, both essential for an inverter expected to deliver significant current.
The essential functions are shown below, but without including a full schematic. Figure 9
is highly simplified, because a complete schematic is too complex to follow easily. The
two oscillators are shown in the next section - one 50Hz sinewave oscillator and one

25kHz triangle wave oscillator. These are used to generate the PWM waveform. Note
that in switchmode power supply language, a bridged output stage like that shown
below is commonly referred to as an 'H' bridge, and is drawn so that the switching
devices and transformer form the shape of the letter 'H'.

Figure 9 - Simplified PWM Sinewave Inverter

As shown above, it is preferable to use a bridged amplifier to drive the primary. This has
the effect of doubling the supply voltage, so the maximum swing across the transformer
is almost 8.5V RMS (24V peak-peak) rather than just under 4.25V that can be obtained
from a single 12V supply. The current that each MOSFET stage must control is
extremely high, and MOSFETs with extremely low RDSon (on resistance) are needed.
At an output of just 1A peak into the load, each MOSFET will be switching a peak
current of at least 30A DC.
The bridged PWM amplifiers are driven just like any other bridged amp, but with a PWM
signal. Because the high frequency switching may play havoc with a transformer
attached, it might necessary to use the output low pass filters so that the switching
signal is isolated from the transformer. If the transformer is made to have very low
leakage inductance, it will be possible to place the low pass filter at the output, but this
means that the required inductance will be greater than that needed if the filter is in the
low voltage circuit. The MOSFET driver sections are responsible for level shifting (high
side) and for providing the required dead-time to ensure that the vertical MOSFET pairs
(Q1, Q2 and Q3, Q4) are never on at the same time.
6.1 - High Voltage PWM
For any high power inverter, the transformer becomes a major part of the unit, in size,
weight and cost. If the inverter uses a switchmode boost supply to obtain the peak
voltage needed for the output, it can use a much smaller transformer because it will

switch at 25kHz or more, rather than 50Hz. The output stage then works with the full
peak voltage, either 325V or 170V DC, to suit 230V and 120V mains respectively. A
basic diagram of this kind of inverter is shown below. By using a higher DC voltage (e.g.
400V for 230V output), it becomes possible to provide regulation that can be as good as
you need it to be.

Figure 10 - DC-DC Converter, High Voltage PWM

This arrangement allows the DC-DC converter to be optimised, and the transformer can
be a great deal smaller than would otherwise be the case. Although only two IGBTs are
shown for the DC-DC converter, ideally it would use several high current devices in
parallel so that the extremely high current can be handled with minimum losses. Since
this arrangement may be used with inverters of any power, but it only becomes
economical for an output of perhaps 250VA or more (typically allowing for a 500VA peak
or 'surge' rating). At an output of just 500VA (or 500W), the average DC current will be
around 47A allowing for losses.
The output stage will be an 'H' bridge so that the DC voltage is only half that otherwise
needed for a full AC cycle. It may seem silly to use two separate stages, having a DCDC converter followed by a PWM sinewave generator at the full mains voltage, but it
has many advantages and if done properly will be more efficient than a single switching
stage. This approach also makes regulation easier, but it requires very comprehensive
protective circuits around the output switching devices (not shown in Figure 10).
Providing protection isn't especially difficult, but it needs to be fast enough to protect the
switching devices under worst case conditions. Mains loads can be very hard on
inverters, because there are so many that appear to be close to a short circuit when
power is applied. Most switchmode power supplies, large transformers and motors are
especially difficult, with motors being one of the hardest of all. Start current for typical
motors is very high, and if the motor has to start under load (refrigeration compressors
being one of the worst) the problem is a great deal worse. If the inverter can't supply

enough current for the motor to start, either the inverter or the motor (or both) may be
damaged.

Figure 11 - Photo Of 300W High Voltage PWM Inverter

The photo above shows the insides of a 300W inverter that follows the block diagram
shown in Figure 10 pretty much exactly. The output section is driven by a PIC
microcontroller and two IR2110 combined high-side and low-side MOSFET drivers,
each driving a pair of IRF840 high voltage MOSFETs. The PIC is responsible for
generating the sinewave, probably using a simple table to determine the pulse width
needed for each transition. It's crystal controlled, so the frequency will be fairly accurate,

but this wasn't tested. Distortion is very low - all harmonics are below -40dB, so total
distortion is unlikely to exceed around 2% - this is an excellent result for an inverter.
The main inverter section uses a pair of IGBTs to handle the high current. The large
yellow core marked PSI-300W is the inductor for the output filter, along with a 2uF, 300V
AC capacitor. The other core you can see is the switching transformer that converts the
12V input to approximately 350V DC, switching at ~40kHz.
7 - Oscillators
There are many different ways to make oscillators that are suitable for generating
sinewaves and triangle waves. In a highly integrated commercial design, they will
probably both be digital, and preferably crystal locked so the frequency is accurate. For
a UPS, the situation is complicated if you want the output of the generator to be in
phase with the mains so the changeover is free of glitches. In the case of a stand-alone
sinewave generator, we don't care, especially as the system can also operate as a
frequency changer. Producing 60Hz mains in a 50Hz country (or vice versa) is a fairly
common testing laboratory requirement for example.
The oscillator described in the first reference [1] and shown in Figure 10 is fairly
straightforward, and has good frequency stability. Amplitude stability is determined by
the saturation voltage of the first opamp, and may vary slightly with temperature. For a
more comprehensive look at various sinewave generator techniques, see Sinewave
Oscillators - Characteristics, Topologies and Examples. For an AC source, distortion
below 1% is more than acceptable, and even a Class-D stage can benefit (slightly) by
allowing it to clip the peaks. For most applications it doesn't matter at all if the generated
mains waveform has up to 5% total distortion, and this eases the demands on the
50/60Hz oscillator. In particular, it means that amplitude stabilisation techniques aren't
needed, simplifying the design.

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Figure 12 - Three Stage Phase-Shift Sinewave Oscillator

While the design is straightforward and has fairly low distortion, the amplitude will vary a
little as the frequency is changed via VR1. The amplitude can be varied to some extent
by changing the ratio of R3 and R4, but this also changes the frequency and is not
useful. U1 operates as a amplifier with gain controlled by R3 and R4. As shown it has a
gain of 10 (100k / 10k), and if the gain is reduced by much it won't oscillate. Higher gain
makes oscillation a certainty, but at the expense of higher distortion. With a 12V supply,
the output level is about 460mV RMS with a distortion of 0.8%. Frequency is 50Hz with
VR1 set to 52k. Because the output sinewave is taken from the output of an opamp, it
has low impedance. To obtain a higher level, U4 can be wired as an amplifier, or the
output can taken from U3 (930mV with 2% distortion).
This oscillator is usable for either linear or Class-D inverters. There's obviously not
much point making a sinewave oscillator for a modified squarewave inverter. A good
sinewave can also be created using digital synthesis, and that has the advantage that it
can be crystal controlled. While absolute frequency stability is usually not very important
for an inverter, it doesn't hurt anything and if it comes (virtually) free then what's not to
like? A PIC can be used to generate the sinewave, and also monitor circuit
performance, temperature, etc.

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Figure 13 - Schmitt Trigger + Integrator Triangle Generator

The triangle wave generator can also be done many different ways, but as shown above
is fairly simple and has good linearity. U1 is wired as a Schmitt trigger, having positive
feedback applied to its non-inverting input. U2 is an integrator. The output from U2
increases until the non-inverting input of U1 is forced higher than the reference voltage
(Vref) at the inverting input. It rapidly switches its output high, causing the output of U2
to fall linearly until the non-inverting input of U1 is forced lower than Vref. The cycle
repeats indefinitely. With the values shown and a 12V supply, the output amplitude is 4V
peak-to-peak at a frequency of 25.8kHz. VR1 allows you to set the level to match that
from the sinewave generator for the optimum modulation level. C2 is used at the
'bottom' end of VR1 so that the 6V reference voltage is retained, and doesn't vary with
the pot setting. R6 ensures that the triangle wave and DC reference level cannot be
lost, even if the pot becomes open-circuit.

Figure 14 - Comparator To Create PWM Waveform

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By combining the circuits of Figure 12 and Figure 13 and adding a comparator, we get a
complete pulse width modulator - and yes, it really is that simple. For a better idea of the
exact waveforms involved, refer to Figure 8. The output is PWM, and is ready to send to
the switching MOSFETs via a suitable level shifter and gate driver IC. These are readily
available, with the International Rectifier IR2110 being one of the most common. This
part is specifically designed to drive the gates of MOSFETs for Class-D amplifiers.

Figure 15 (Left) - PWM Waveform, 2.5kHz with 50Hz Modulation


Figure 16 (Right) - Recovered 50Hz Signal With Spectrum

Figure 15 shows the output of a pulse width modulator along the lines of that shown in
Figure 14. The main difference is that I used an opamp (which works but is isn't really
fast enough), and I had to reduce the triangle waveform frequency to 2.5kHz so the
waveform could be seen properly on the oscilloscope.
The recovered waveform is shown in Figure 16, along with the frequency spectrum in
the lower violet trace. The 50Hz waveform is the spike at the extreme left, and the
2.5kHz residual (with its sidebands) is seen in the centre of the frequency domain
measurement. The filter used was just a simple resistor-capacitor low-pass type with a
-3dB frequency of 159Hz (10k resistor and 100nF capacitor), so there's more of the
2.5kHz signal than you'd normally see. If the modulation carrier frequency is increased
to 25kHz, the 50Hz waveform is very clean indeed - even with such a crude filter and
slow opamp.
8 - Regulation
Many inverters offer 'regulation', but it's often not proper regulation that maintains both
peak and RMS at the designated output voltage. For modified squarewave inverters, the
regulation circuit will attempt to maintain the RMS voltage as the peak sags under load.
This is done by making the 'on' periods longer, and the output voltage starts to resemble
that from a squarewave inverter as the load is increased.

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True sinewave inverters using PWM will use a variety of techniques, but the easiest is
simply to allow the output waveform to clip. The alternative is to ensure that the PWM
amplifier has some headroom, and to apply a comprehensive feedback circuit to ensure
that the AC output remains within preset limits.
With all inverters, it is essential to realise that the current on the input side will be very
high. That means that everything in the chain can affect the regulation, from the battery,
supply leads, switching devices and transformer primary windings. Even a rather paltry
100W inverter will draw 8.33A DC at 12V, but the instantaneous current is higher and
losses haven't been considered. The actual (average) current will be closer to 10A, and
peak current will be almost 20A. Even a small resistance causes a serious voltage drop
- for example just 0.1 ohm will cause a loss of 2V at 20A, so 12V is now only 10V.
It is quite obvious that if 12V is reduced to 10V at the peak current, then the output
voltage must fall at least in proportion, and there may be a bit more loss due to internal
resistances. The required peak of 325V will fall to only 270V and the RMS value will be
down to about 190V. The only way that proper output regulation can be achieved is with
feedback. A high voltage PWM inverter is likely to be the only one that can offer both
acceptable regulation (better than 5% from no load to full load) while maintaining the
correct peak to RMS ratio - see below.
9 - Transformers
The transformer used for an inverter is invariably a step-up type. The primary must have
very low resistance because of the high current involved, and in all cases the
transformer has to be designed for the mains frequency in use. This means that it will
be comparatively large - at least the same size as a normal step-down transformer
intended for the same VA rating.
Depending on the intended usage (intermittent or permanently connected for example)
the allowable losses will be different. A transformer that will only be used for occasional
UPS duties may be smaller than the ideal case, and it will therefore be cheaper, smaller
and lighter. Of course, it will also have higher losses. The primary inductance is of little
real consequence, but it must be high enough to ensure that magnetising current at 50
or 60Hz is low enough to ensure losses are within sensible limits.
As an example, a fairly basic (i.e. nothing special) mains voltage transformer may draw
50mA from a 230V 50Hz mains supply with no load. This is the magnetising current,
and the effective inductance is therefore calculated using the normal inductive
reactance formula ...
XL = V / I
XL = 230 / 0.05 = 4.6k ohms
L = XL / ( 2 * * f )
L = 4.6k / ( 6.283 * 50 ) = 14.64H

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It follows that if the turns ratio is 30:1 (7.66V RMS Output) that the effective secondary
inductance will be about 488mH, and when used in reverse the magnetising current will
be around 1.5A. As always with transformer design, it's really only the core saturation
limit that needs to be addressed, and this depends on the core material, the type of core
(E-I, toroidal, etc.) and the maximum allowable dissipation at idle. Contrary to popular
belief, the core flux of any transformer is at a maximum when there is no load. The
flux always reduces as the load current is increased [5].
For a step-up transformer, it is essential that the low voltage primary has enough turns
to prevent core saturation. It's a much bigger problem with step-up transformers
because the primary resistance is very low, and even slight saturation will cause a
dramatic increase in the current drawn from the battery. Unlike a conventional mains
transformer, the primary resistance is too low to provide any current limiting.
As always, transformer design is a compromise, and to get the lowest resistance means
few turns of thick wire. However, if the wire is so thick that you can't get enough turns,
the core will saturate and no-load losses become excessive. The designer's task is to
work out the thickest wire possible for the turns needed, and to choose a core that's big
enough to avoid saturation, but not so big that it becomes too heavy and expensive.
Perhaps surprisingly, even if the amplifier is PWM at high frequency, the transformer
can't be a small ferrite core type. The low frequency content (i.e. the mains frequency) is
the dominant factor, and the transformer has to be able to handle that, not the switching
frequency. This limitation applies even if there is no low pass filter between the
amplifier(s) and the transformer's low voltage primary.
It's not at all uncommon for commercially available inverters to have a transformer that
is clearly too small. In order to get the required number of turns needed to avoid
saturation, the transformer must use wire that is thinner than required to remain cool
under load. This is usually addressed by fan cooling the transformer. Although this
certainly works and prevents the transformer from melt-down, it doesn't prevent the
losses that cause the transformer to get hot in the first place. The result is decreased
efficiency.
Conclusion
As should now be obvious, an inverter is not trivial. Many of the cheap ones that are
available are only low power, and if they claim to be more than around 100VA then you
can be assured that they won't be the size of a drink can. Remember that the
transformer alone will be rated for the full load current, so even a small inverter (100VA,
or 230V at 430mA) needs a transformer rated for at least 100VA. Most will make claims
of up to double the rated output for 'surge' or 'peak' output, but this will almost invariably
mean that the transformer is overloaded during this period. A common method to allow
a smaller than ideal transformer is to fan cool it, and this is quite common for cheap
inverters.

15

Frequency accuracy and stability are rarely quoted. Although relatively unimportant for
most applications (5% accuracy will usually be quite sufficient) there are a few cases
where both stability and frequency are extremely important. Don't imagine that any
budget inverter is stable enough to drive synchronous clock or timer motors for
example. An error that's insignificant for most applications is extremely significant for
clocks and mechanical timers that use the mains as a reference frequency.
In case anyone was wondering, there is no project for a sinewave inverter and there's
not about to be. On-line auction sites will have many listings for inverters, some will be
modified squarewave (but claim "modified sinewave"), and others shown as true
sinewave. This may or may not be the truth. Either way, at the prices they sell for, it's
not worth trying to build one. In general, I'd suggest that you halve the claimed rating, as
I suspect that very few are capable of their advertised power ratings, but even after
doing that, they are still cheap.
Because of the very high currents involved, the switching devices must be extremely
rugged, and good protection is needed to ensure that momentary overloads don't cause
failure. It is also necessary to include battery protection, so that if the voltage falls below
a pre-determined minimum voltage the inverter turns off. If this isn't included, the battery
will be ruined because all current chemistries are damaged if they are discharged too
far. As a guide, you can assume about 10A for each 100W of output with a 12V input.
This assumes an overall efficiency of around 83%, which will cover most budget
inverters and quite a few up-market types as well.
For those so inclined, it can be amusing to look through some of the advertisements for
inverters. I've seen 2,500W (5,000W peak) inverters, where it's claimed that the unit has
a 40A fuse. Since the inverter can be expected to draw up to 500A at 12V (~250A at full
rated continuous power), I wonder what the fuse is for.

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