Abstract:
Due to escalating energy costs and the transition towards cheaper and sustainable energy
sources, there is a growing demand for rooftop grid-tie Photovoltaic (PV) systems.
However, the market is saturated with non-compliant off-the-shelf inverters. This
abundance tempts users to opt for cheaper, substandard inverters, compromising both
reliability and power system integrity. To ensure seamless integration of inverter with the
grid, thorough testing to validate its compliance is imperative. This thesis presents an
indigenous inverter testing facility in accordance with IEC-61727, IEEE-1547-2018, and
IEEE 1547-2020. The setup can simulate real time abnormal grid events to test under &
over voltage and frequency protection, reconnection time, ride through capability, anti islanding detection, phase failure protection, and frequency watt droop feature. This system has the ability to identify missing characteristics in the tested inverters, particularly
focusing on essential protection and grid support features. Furthermore, this thesis
highlights the issues being faced in electrical system due to adoption of substandard
commercial inverters.
