ABSTRACT
The widespread utilization of distributed renewable energy sources (RESs), especially solar PV, together with the changing nature of loads (from ac to dc) has paved way for the development of low voltage low power residential dc distribution systems (LVPDS). However, several stages of dc-dc converters, performing different tasks, are required to integrate the RES, energy storage devices (ESD), and loads, which makes the system complex and less efficient. As a result, a unique three-port battery-integrated tapped-inductor dc-dc boost converter (BITIC) is developed and analyzed in this chapter for LVPDS power management. The proposed converter replaces the requirement of the source converter used for implementing maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and the bidirectional converter used for interfacing the battery. Depending upon the generated power and the state of charge of the battery (Soc), the converter can reconfigure itself to operate as a single-input dual-output (SIDO), dual-input single-output (DISO), or single-input single-output (SISO) converter. The converter operation in each configuration is analyzed and the design guidelines are presented. It is observed that the converter exhibits high voltage gain under all the operating configurations. The simulation studies are performed to investigate the converter performance in the time domain. The laboratory prototype of the converter is then used to test the theoretical conclusions and simulation results. All investigations were found to be in close correlation with each other with a permissible error margin.
