INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL (IJESC)

Vol. 3, No. 1, Jan-June 2011, pp. 11 20

PIC16F72 Microcontroller Based Solar Powerd UPS

Santhosh Kumar1 and M. L. Sudheer2

Abstract: Growth in digital data storage and transmission in the fields of internet, telecommunication, enterprise
networks etc. enables to think of uninterrupted power supply. The amount of data that needs to be stored in case
of internet servers has grown from 20Tbps in 2001 to 100 Tbps in 2003. If there is a continuous power failure the
data stored might gets lost causing huge financial losses and sometimes results in loosing security information.
Consider a one more scenario of an application which runs for more than a day or two. If there is a continuous
power failure during these days it will cause the application to abort and needs to run again from the start. This
enables to go for alternative sources of energy, particularly natural inexhaustible sources of energy to run the
applications, servers, and enterprise networks. Solar energy is available abundantly in the nature as a gift that
can be utilized to convert it into electrical energy using solar panels and associated circuitry.
Sudden power loss could also damage various sensitive parts of the computer. To provide continuous power
supply to a load, a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) is used. Other than providing continuous power supply,
the UPS provides a constant and problem free, regulated supply to the load. The UPS systems used in sensitive
devices and in critical applications, will have to have a very high changeover time, small in size, should not be
heavier, should have high battery lifetime. Also building, testing and debugging of the system should be easier and
time to market.
UPS has a VA rating which is the maximum number of Volts * Amps it can deliver. The VA rating is not the same as
the power drain (in Watts) of the equipment. This would be true if the load was only resistive or the circuit was DC,
not AC. Computers are non-resistive hence for computer applications VA rating is used. A typical power factor
(PF = Watts/ VA) for some computers may be as low as 0.6, which means that if there is a drain of 100 Watts, UPS
should have a VA rating of 167. The VA rating of UPS should be greater than the VA rating of the load. The UPS
here is designed for 300VA.
Keywords: PIC16fXX, Microcontroller, UPS, Solar Energy.

1. FEATURES received through exhaustible sources of energy like

The UPS is used to get uninterrupted, clean, regulated
AC supply even when the AC mains supply fails. A good
UPS system should have following features:
Frequency of the AC output by UPS is constant
50Hz.
Have LED indicators and protection for no-load,
overload, low-charge and high charge conditions.
Changeover time is a us.
Provides good battery backup time (on a load of
1amp provides a backup of more than 40 hours).
Has a microcontroller as control section to control
various operations of UPS.
1.1 Motivation
The huge amount of power cuts in the rural and urban
areas and the huge cost of electricity generated and
1
B.R., M. E(E&C), E-mail: santhosh5673@gmail.com.
2 it into electrical energy.
Prof. UVCE (E&C), Bangalore
nuclear power plants is not good for common man and
for the nature. Nowadays because of shortage of rainfall
there will be power cuts in cities and metros also. During
the days of high end technological development usage of
electronic and electrical equipments is a routine. To use
these equipments power is of utmost important. It suggests
the need of continuous power for the welfare of humanity.
Continuous power can be provided by using uninterrupted
power supplies (UPS). UPS can be used for lighting the
house, running motors and vehicles, in industries, and
importantly to run computers and servers.
In computers say, there is an application which runs
for more than a day or two. Any power cut will cause
the application to abort and needs to run again from the
start. This enables to think alternative sources of energy,
particularly natural inexhaustible sources of energy to
run the applications as well as to charge the battery. In
this project, solar energy has been considered to convert
12 International Journal of Electrical Systems and Control (IJESC)
UPS currently available in the market are bulkier
and heavier. Using microcontrollers to control most of
the operations ensures to build cheap, lighter and small
sized UPS. Microcontroller can be programmed to
indicate the status of UPS whether it is running on AC
or UPS, whether it is over-loaded or there is no-load
connected at the output whether the battery is over-
charged or deep-discharged. These observations can be
used to switch ON or switch OFF the computer after
saving the application.
1.2 Problem Statement
There will be an inexhaustible amount of solar energy
available in the universe. Because of scarcity of
exhaustible resources like coal and uranium for the
manufacturing of electricity we can utilize solar energy
for generating electricity. The UPS available nowadays
are of huge size and heavier built without the integrated
circuits of interests. This report contains UPS system built
using microcontroller PIC16F72, which has inbuilt ADC,
CCP module, Timers, Comparators, configurable ports,
interrupts etc. These modules can be used to compare
signals and voltage references and generate control signals
either to switch ON or switch OFF a particular portion
of UPS. Also CCP module can be used to generate MOS
drive signals for the inverter circuit. In existing UPS
which seems to be bulkier uses op-amp comparator ICs,
PWM ICs and others which make the system bulkier,
heavier. The use of PIC16F72 microcontroller eliminates
most of those circuits enabling the system compact and
lighter. Features like over load protection and no-load
protection, over-charging and deep discharge protection
will ensure longer lifetime of the UPS and increases the
battery lifetime. Battery is charged using trickle charging
method using solar charger which ensures longer battery
lifetime and increases the battery backup time.
The feedback signal which comes from the source
of inverter section to the PIC will be used to indicate
either overload or no-load conditions. The feedback signal
which comes from the battery will be used to indicate
either over-charging or deep discharge conditions. When
there is overload the output tries to draw very high current
which might damage the UPS so microcontroller section
will cut the load from the UPS. When there is no load
the output is not drawing any current from the UPS which
indicates wastage of power if UPS is running. In these
situations microcontroller will send signals to switch OFF
the UPS. If the 12 volt 40AH battery is discharged below
11 volt and if charges above 13.6 volt, it will be indicated
through LED and UPS will be switched OFF or otherwise
battery may gets completely damaged. Battery will be
charged using boost charger during first installation.
After that it needs to be charged at regular intervals of
time. Otherwise battery gets completely discharged.
Charging using trickle charge method ensures battery is
always fully charged. This gives longer battery lifetime.
To use vastly available solar energy, utilization of solar
panels to generate DC current ensures energy security.
DC current can be used to charge the battery. Some of
the design issues considered are:
Design of the Charger Circuit which includes Utility
Charger and Solar Charger with an associated Relay
& Comparator.
Inverter
Monitoring and Indicator
Protection System
Programming the PIC
2. BLOCK DIAGRAM
The Figure 6 shows an UPS powered by solar energy.
The 40AH, 12 volt battery will be initially boost charged
and then kept in trickle charge mode with Relay and
Battery Charger block. There are two battery chargers
one for utility AC line and another for the power coming
from solar panel. The NC terminal of relay is connected
to the signal coming from solar panel. NO terminal is
connected to the signal coming from utility AC line.
Whenever the signal from solar panel goes below 12 volt,
the comparator circuit gives an active high signal which
Fig. 1: PIC16f72 Controlled UPS
energizes the relay. This connects the relay pole to the
NO terminal which in turn connected to the signal coming
from utility AC line. The comparator circuit continuously
monitors the signal from solar panel. Whenever it returns
back to above 12 volt range, it gives out an active low
signal which de-energizes the relay. This connects the
relay pole back to the NC terminal which in turn connects
to the signal coming from solar panel. The charger circuit
charges the battery at 12 volt and approximately 55ma.
The battery used is rated for 12 volt 40AH, a rechargeable
lead acid battery. The battery gives supply to the inverter
operation. The microcontroller continuously monitors the
PIC 16F72 Microcontroller Based Solar Powerd UPS
battery condition. If it is in charge and charging is taking
place by means of solar energy then the PIC will send a
low signal to the output electronic relay.
The operation of the above block can be explained
as when AC is available load gets the supply from it.
Battery is charged through utility line supply battery
charger if and only if solar charger output is not sufficient.
Green LED will glow indicating utility is ON. When
utility supply will cut load gets the supply from inverter
and UPS transformer. Battery is charged through solar
charger. Blue LED will glow indicating UPS is ON.
When utility is OFF and battery is over-charged or deep-
discharged Yellow LED will glow indicating to switch
off the load after saving the work. During over-load and
no-load conditions Red LED will glow indicating to cut
the load from the UPS system.
Table 1
UPS, Charger & Inverter Status Under Various
Conditions
Solar Battery Charge
Energy Full Off AC Charger Inverter AVR
YES NO YES NA ON ON OFF
YES YES NO NA OFF ON OFF
NO YES NO NA OFF ON OFF
NO NO YES YES ON OFF ON
2.1 The Electronic Voltage Regulator
The electronic voltage regulator (EVR) has evolved with
the advancements in power semiconductors. The
electronic voltage regulator is only used in power quality
applications since it is designed for low voltage (< 600V).
As electronics become more prevalent in industrial and
commercial applications, the speed and performance
advantages of the electronic voltage regulator make it a
better fit than the mechanical voltage regulator.
OA17858 Fixed Voltage Regulator which contains
SCR switches. All of the SCR switches OFF except one
which will be ON so current flows only through the
desired tap. When the controller senses the need for a tap
change, it turns OFF the SCR switch on one tap and then
turns ON the SCR for the appropriate tap.
It is an additional section in the UPS. When the AC
main is available, the inverter sends the AC mains to its
output socket without any correction. For example,
if the input AC supply is 180V, it will be sent to the
output socket by the inverter, and if the input AC is 260V
this will also be sent to the output socket. No correction
is done by the inverter on the input AC supply to bring it
into 220-230V range. In the UPS, when an AC main is
available, the AVR section regulates the incoming
13
AC supply and provides a regulated output at its output
socket. The AVR section regulates the incoming AC
mains supply (varying from 150V to 270V) and provides
a supply in the range of 220V to 240V at its output socket.
Fig. 2: Electronic Automatic Voltage Regulator
Characteristics
2.2 Transformer
Fig. 3: Iron Core Transformer
Transformer is a device which works on the principle
of Mutual Induction. In the transformer electric energy
is transferred from one circuit to another circuit. During
this transfer the current and the voltage can be changed
i.e. they can be increased or reduced. There is no direct
electrical connection between the primary and secondary
coil in a transformer. When the AC current flows in the
primary coil, changes in the magnetic flux generated by
this current in the primary, induces EMF in the secondary
coil. The voltage generated in the secondary coil depends
on the ratio between the number of turns in the primary
and number of turns in the secondary coil. In a
transformer the relationship between voltage, current and
number of turns in the coil is given by
V1/V2 = N1/N2 = I2/I1
Where, V1, I1, N1 Input voltage, Current and
Number of turns in the primary coil. V2, I2, N2 Output
voltage, Current and Number of turns in the secondary
coil. The transformer of turns ratio 10. If input varies
in the range of 170V 260V AC, AVR regulates it to
within 220V 240V AC. Transformer steps down it to
22 V 24V AC. Rectifier and Filter circuit converts it to
pure DC while charger converts it to 13VDC for charging
the battery.
14 International Journal of Electrical Systems and Control (IJESC)
2.3 Rechargeable Battery
A battery is the one that supplies DC power through
chemical reaction. Alessandro Volta developed battery
when he found the generation of electrical current from
chemical reactions between different metal of different
properties. Rechargeable batteries are the one that can be
used multiple times, after using the charge stored in them,
they can be recharged and reused. These batteries are
mainly used in industries and automobiles where higher
initial current is required. Rechargeable batteries are
costlier and require regular maintenance. The basic
building block of batteries is cells. Each cell has a positive
and a negative terminal. The battery is made up of one
or more cells. Normally, voltage obtained from a battery
or the voltage required to recharge a battery is given in
per cell basis. One can multiply the number of cells in a
battery with this per cell values to find the actual voltage
generated by the battery or the actual recharge voltage
required to charge the battery. The capacity of a cell is
defined as the number of electrons obtained from it. The
number of electrons per unit time can be called current,
so, the capacity of a cell can be the current supplied by it
over a time. The cells capacity is measured in Ampere-
Hours and is defined as the current (in ampere) multiplied
by the time the current is flowing. The capacity of a cell
depends on the active material used in the cell and on the
volume of the cell.
When a battery is connected to a load, the electrical
energy stored in it gets utilized, this is known as
discharging of battery. When the energy stored in the
battery gets completely exhausted, the battery stops
providing supply to the load, and this battery is called
discharged battery. This discharged battery can be given
power from some external source to once again store
energy into it. This process is known as charging of the
battery. Once a battery is charged, it can be reused like a
new battery to provide energy to the load connected to
it. All batteries cannot be recharged, a battery which can
be recharged to restore its energy is known as a
rechargeable battery or a storage battery. Battery is an
important part of the UPS; an UPS converts the DC
supply of battery into AC supply to provide supply to
the load connected to it. This process slowly discharges
the battery. When the AC main is available, a charger
circuit in the UPS converts the AC mains supply into
DC supply and charges the battery. This makes sure that
the battery is kept fully charged and ready to provide
supply to the UPS, whenever the AC mains supply fail.
A Lead-Acid type of battery is most common battery
used with the UPS. These batteries can provide very high
current for longer duration. These batteries are
inexpensive compared to other rechargeable batteries.
The lead-acid batteries are generally rated in terms of
how much current the battery can supply for a fixed period
of time. Battery capacity is rated in Ah. Generally Ah
value is based on 8 hours discharge time. The capacity
of any battery depends on the number of plates used in
each cell of the battery. A 40Ah battery used can provide
the load current of 5A (40/8 = 5) for 8 hours. The battery
can supply less current for longer time or more current
for shorter time. Charge or discharge state of the lead-
acid battery is indicated by the specific gravity (SG) of
the batterys electrolyte. SG of the electrolyte is the ratio
of the weight of the electrolyte with the weight of same
quantity of the water. SG of the electrolyte does not
indicate the battery capacity. The sulfuric acid used in
the battery is 1.835 times as heavy as water for the same
volume, therefore the SG of the sulfuric acid is 1.835.
SG of water is 1, as it is used as reference. SG of the
electrolyte of a fully charged battery is 1.25, at room
temperature. When the battery gets fully discharged,
electrolytes SG reduces to 1.15. The reason behind this
is, as the battery gets discharged, the acid level in the
electrolyte gets reduced and the water level increase. The
SG of the electrolyte of a cell is used to find out its open
circuit voltage. During discharge, the SG decreases
linearly with the Ah discharged as indicated in the below
figure. The downward sloping line for the SG of the
electrolyte during discharge is approximated by the
equation.
Cell Open-Circuit Voltage = SG + 0.84
Fig. 4: SG While Discharge and Charging
2.4 Charger Circuit
(1) For trickle charging, charging current should be
less than 0.01 times the capacity of the battery.
Here a 40Ah battery is being charged at rate of
approximately 40m amp. The battery should not
be charged at a quick rate, so that it assures a longer
lifetime.
(2) The charging voltage should be set to 2.3 2.4V
per 2V cell. So a 12V battery (6 cells of 2V) is
charged at 6 2.3 = 13.8V.
PIC 16F72 Microcontroller Based Solar Powerd UPS
(3) The transformer winding for the charger supply is
chosen at the charging voltage plus 3V regulator
drop plus 1.4V rectifier drop (two diodes) plus 10%
safety. So for a 12V battery, the winding (AC) is
12V + 3V + 0.7V + 0.7V = 16.4V + 10% = 18V.
(4) The charging current is limited by the small resistor
in the common leg of the charger. The value for
this resistor can be calculated with: R = 0.6V / max
current. For a maximum current of 50 mA, required
resistance is 0.6V/0.05A = 12 ohms. The 0.6V is
the voltage required for the transistor to go fully
into conduction. Between 0V and 0.6V the
transistor will adjust the regulator to increase or
decrease voltage depending on the current it is
passing.
(5) The charging voltage can be set using the
potentiometer. Just hook up a volt-meter to the
charger (without the battery attached) and adjust
the output voltage until it matches the charging
voltage. Use 5K for 12V batteries.
The diode over the regulator prevents damage to the
regulator when the supply is turned off. In this situation
the battery that is still attached offers a negative voltage
over the regulator, as the voltage on the output is greater
than the voltage on the input. The diode shorts the
regulator in this situation and avoids any problems. It is
just a safety.
2.5 AC-DC Converter (Rectifier and Filter)
The sinusoidal AC signal from the utility supply will be
stepped down to 22VAC. This AC signal will be given
as the input to bridge rectifier and a capacitor filter which
gives out pure 16V, 16m amp DC signal. 16V DC signal
will be the input to the battery charger.
Fig. 5: AC DC CONVERTER
Fig. 6: Circuit Diagram of AC - DC Converter
15
The bridge rectifier uses four 1N4148 rectifier
diodes. These diodes are having 1 ohm forward resistance.
The load resistance is of 10 ohm and the filter capacitor
used is 1000 uF. The zener diode used of 16 volt which
gives the constant 12 volt output.
The input to the rectifier and filter circuit is 22 volt,
2amp AC signal and the output is 16 volt, 1.6 amp DC
signal. The efficiency of this rectifier is 67.7% and
contains a ripple 0.0919.
2.6 Solar Panels
The solar panel gives out a 18 volt and 1.8 amp DC
current. It receives energy from sun light and converts it
into electrical energy. Each photovoltaic cell gives out
0.6 volt, 0.09 amp DC current. Each panel has 20 rows
and 30 columns. So each panel output is 18 volt, 1.8
amps. More number of such panels can be connected in
parallel to give out large output DC current for driving
heavy load. For example if more number of loads has to
be driven utilizing 5.4 amps then three such panels has
to be connected in parallel so that total output current is
1.8 * 3 = 5.4 amps.
18 volt 1.8 Amp DC which is enough to charge the
12 volt 40 AH battery through a charger circuit. The
typical Solar Panel today achieves between 10% and 15%
conversion. The theoretical maximum efficiency of a
silicon cell is about 21%. Using a more costly technology
31% conversion can be achieved. The panels used gives
out 18 volt, 1.8 Amp DC current during sunny days.
Light striking certain substances causes the surface of
the material to emit electrons. It is as if light somehow
kicks electrons right out of atoms. Light striking other
substances causes the material to accept electrons. It is
the combination of these two substances that can be made
use of to cause electrons to flow through a conductor.
This is the so called photo-electric effect. Photovoltaic
means sunlight converted into a flow of electrons
(electricity). Photovoltaic devices, or solar cells, are like
generators that work in sunlight. They make electricity
without waste, noise or pollution. They produce
electricity without combustion. A solar cell is a solid
state device in which there are no moving parts (except
for photons and electrons) so nothing wears out. The
fuel is photons. These can be thought of as packets of
sunlight that carry a phenomenal amount of energy to
earth at a prodigious rate. The Solar Panels of today make
use of this abundant energy by using silicon crystals with
small amounts of impurity added. This process of adding
minute amounts of different elements into an otherwise
pure crystal is called doping. By having two thin layers
16 International Journal of Electrical Systems and Control (IJESC)

of doped material bonded against one another, an electric

current can be induced when exposed to light. Energy
Content of Sunlight has an energy content of
1kW (1,000 watts) per square meter. The typical Solar
Panel today achieves between 10% and 15% conversion.
The theoretical maximum efficiency of a silicon cell is
about 21%. Using a more costly technology 31%
conversion can be achieved.

2.7 Battery Charger

Input to the charger circuit is from solar panel which is
18 volt, 1.8 amps and from the rectifier & filter circuit
which is 16 volt, 1.6 amps. The output of the charger
circuit is 13 volt, 50 m amp.
Battery will be charged using boost charger methods
during installation. Once Charged and gets used in the
UPS, it will be charged using trickle charge method.
Trickle charge method ensures that battery is fully
charged all the time it is used. A 12 volt battery should
maintain a voltage of minimum 11V and a maximum of
13.6V. If it goes beyond this range microcontroller will
sense it and shuts the Inverter from battery.
A trickle charge is a continuous constant current
charge which is used to maintain a battery in a fully
charged condition. Trickle charging is used to recharge
a battery for losses from self-discharge as well as to restore
the energy discharged during intermittent use of the
battery.
The fig shows the charger circuit used to charge a
battery. It is suitable for charging up to a 40 A/H battery.
It is protected against discharging the battery by a diode
if the input power is removed. The battery charger
diagram has two charger sections. One solar charger
receives the signal directly from solar panels. While the
other Utility charger receives the voltage signals from
the output of bridge rectifier and filter circuit. The output
of Solar Charger is connected to the NC terminal of the
relay while the output of utility charger is connected to
the NO terminal of the same relay. The output of solar
charger is also given to the comparator which compares
the solar panel voltage with reference 12 voltage.
If solar panel voltage is more than 12 volt then the
comparator output is negative which wont induce the
current in the relay circuit thereby retaining the NC
position connected to the Pole. If solar panel voltage is
more than 12 volt then the comparator output is positive
which do induce current in the relay circuit thereby
switching the pole to NO position which in turn connected
to the utility charger.
Fig. 7: Block Diagram of Charger Circuit
2.7.1 Battery Charger using Lm317
A charger using the IC LM317 is shown here. LM317 is
a 3-pin adjustable voltage regulator IC. Pin-3 is the input
pin; a rectified and filtered DC supply is given to this
pin. Pin-1 is control pin. This pin is used to control the
charging voltage. Pin-2 is output pin. Regulated voltage
output at this pin is given to the positive terminal of the
battery to charge the battery.
Fig. 8: Battery Charger Using LM317
Charging current is controlled by T1, R1 and R4.
VR1 is used to set the charging current. As the battery
gets charged, the current flowing through the R1
increases. This results in increase in the current and
voltage from the LM317. When the battery becomes fully
charged, charger reduces the charging current to the
battery, and the battery is charged in trickle charging
mode. The input at LM317 should be around 3-volts
higher than the output voltage from the LM317 as this
IC requires minimum 3-volts for its operation. As this
IC gets very hot during operation, a good heat sink should
be used with this IC.
The charging current should be kept to around 0.1
times the capacity of the battery. So a 40Ah battery should
be charged with 4A of current (40 0.1 = 4) during
initial charging. The battery will not be forced (quick
charged) this way and assures a longer lifetime. The
charging voltage should be set to 2.3 2.4V per 2V cell.
So a 12V battery (6 cells of 2V) is charged at 6 2.3 =
13.8V. The charging current is limited by the small
PIC 16F72 Microcontroller Based Solar Powerd UPS
resistor R1 in the common leg of the charger. The value
for this resistor can be calculated with: R = 0.6V / max
current. So if I want a maximum current of 1A, I will
need 0.6V / 1A = 0.6 ohms. The 0.6V is the voltage
required for the transistor to go fully into conduction.
Between 0V and 0.6V the transistor will adjust the
regulator to increase or decrease voltage depending on
the current it is passing. The charging voltage is set using
the potentiometer.
2.7.2 Battery Charger using HA178L14
The solar charger circuit is shown below. Voltage signal
from solar panel used to vary depending on the
availability of solar light. HA178LXX regulates the input
voltage and gives out a constant output voltage in the
range of 12 to 14 volts with a typical value of 13 volts.
Fig. 9: Battery Charger using HA17814
2.8. Op-Amp Comparators
Fig. 10: Comparator to Generate Volt_h and
volt_l Signals
Fig. 11: Comparator to Generate Curr_h and
Curr_l
17
2.9 Microcontroller
It is used either to send PWM signals to the Comparator
& Multiplexer unit to send MOS drive signals to the
inverter OR to switch off the inverter portion. Voltage
signal from Inverter output and/or Battery will be
compared with reference values to indicate low-battery,
high-battery, over-load and no-load conditions.
PIC16F72 is used to send MOS drive voltages to
MOSFET inverter section. The PWM section of the
PIC16F72 sends MOS drive signals to the inverter.
Microcontroller receives signals from various parts of
the system to indicate either over-load, no-load, deep
discharge, and over charging conditions. If the user did
not turn off the load and did not switch off the UPS after
the warning LEDs have been glowing for prescribed
amount of time then microcontroller automatically stops
sending PWM gating signals to the inverter thereby
turning off the UPS.
Fig. 12: PIC 16F72 Microcontroller
2.10 Comparator And Multiplexer
Fig. 13: Comparator & Multiplexer
18
This device is designed to multiplex signals from 4-
bit data sources to 4-output data lines. PWM module
(CCP1) of the microcontroller generates pulse width
modulated signals in such a way that the output of the
multiplexer 4, 7 and 9, 12 vary at the rate of 50 times a
second. This ensures the MOSFET Inverter generates
50Hz sinusoidal signal.
The PWM signal from PIC16F72 will be given as
input to two op-amps which are used as comparators with
reference voltage of 2.5 volts. PWM signal vary at an
interval of 0 to 10 ms at a constant rate. During first 5
ms the amplitude will be less than 2.5 volts and in the
next 5 ms the amplitude will be between 2.5 to 5 volts.
This ensures the output of multiplexer to give signals
which vary at the rate of 50 times a second.
2.11 Mosfet Inverter
The inverter used is based on MOSFET. Four of these
devices have been connected in such a way that all the
sources of theses transistors have been shorted. Each two
MOSFET drains have been shorted and connected to each
of the terminals of the main transformer. Gate terminal
of these transistors receives alternating gating pulses at
50HZ frequency. This results in a 50HZ AC signal at the
primary of the transformer. 12 volt DC from the battery
is connected to the primary center tap. Other two
terminals receive the alternating pulses from two
MOSFET pairs. This result in a 230V, 50Hz AC signal
at the secondary of the transformer.
PIC sends PWM signal which is compared with
reference voltage and sent to a MUX which gives out
MOS drive signals to the optocoupler. At first half period
of time one optocoupler will be ON which sends gating
pulses to one pair of the inverter. In the rest half of time
another optocoupler will be ON which switches ON the
other pair of MOSFETs. Inverter section gives 12V,
50Hz, AC output which is stepped up to 230 volt AC at
the output of transformer.
Inverter: MOS Drive Section
MOS drive signal at the output of Optocouplers are not
powerful enough to drive the output MOSFETs. These
signals are given to the driver PNP transistors to amplify
them to a level that they be able to drive the MOSFETs.
MOS drive signal amplified by Q1 reaches the gate of
MOSFETs M1 & M2. Similarly MOS drive signal
amplified by Q2 reaches the gate of MOSFETs M3 & M4.
Inverter: Output Section
MOSFETs M1 & M2 make first channel and M3 & M4
makes the second channel of the output section. MOS
drive signal of different polarity reaches the gate of each
International Journal of Electrical Systems and Control (IJESC)
MOSFET channels. As the polarity of signals is different,
when first channel is ON, the second channel will be
OFF and vice versa. Each channel will be ON/OFF
alternatively. This ON/OFF process takes place 50 times
per second. As these MOSFETs are connected to the
primary of the mains transformer, continuous ON/OFF
will produce an AC current in the primary winding of
the transformer. AC current in the primary will produce
AC voltage in the secondary of the transformer. This
AC voltage is sent to the output socket through an ON/
OFF switch.
3. RESULTS
Solar Panel Input: solar energy, Output: 18 volt, 5.4/3
= 1.8 amp DC current. The solar panel used has given an
output of 18 volt and 1.8 * 3 = 5.4 amps, which
corresponds to VA of 97.2 VA.
Rectifier and Filter: Input: 22 VAC, 1.8 amps (rms)
50 Hz sine wave. Output: 16 VDC, 1.6 amps. Efficiency
of the rectifier is 67.67% while the ripple factor without
capacitor filter is 0.5151. With capacitor filter ripple
factor reduced to 0.0919.
Fig. 14: PIN Diagram of 4N30M 6-pin Opto Coupler
Driving Two Legs of MOSFET Inverter
The charger circuit: Input from solar panel: 18 volt,
1.8 amp (which is 5.4/3) DC current. Input from rectifier
& filter: 16 volt, 1.6 amp DC current. Output: 13 VDC,
50 m amps. Charging method: Trickle charging. Battery
voltage: 11.0 13.6 volts.
The charger circuit has two input lines which receive
18 volts from either solar panel or from the rectifier and
filter circuit. One from the rectifier to the charger using
PIC 16F72 Microcontroller Based Solar Powerd UPS
LM7812 and the other from solar panel to the charger
using HA178L12PA. The output of the charger circuit
is 13 volts and 50 mA.
Battery: 12 volt, 40 AH: Input: 13v, 50m amp
charging current DC. Output: 12v, 875 m amp. DC. The
battery uses around 20% of charging voltage for the
chemical reaction and remaining 80% of charging current
is 41.7m amps. The battery will be charged at a rate of
12 volts, 41.7m amps. The output of battery will be 12
volt 875 m amps. This indicates the net discharge rate of
875 41.7 = 833.33m amps.
UPS: Wattage: 300 watts, 12 volt to 230 V AC.
Input: 12 volt, 875 m amp DC from battery. Output: 12
volt, 350 m amp AC sinusoidal waveform. The 300 watt
UPS receives 12 volt, 875mA to the UPS circuit. But
UPS circuit requires around 60% of energy to run. Or in
other words the output current at the output of UPS is
0.35 amps. The remaining 525 m amps will be consumed
in the UPS. That is the output of the UPS is 230 volts
and 350 m amps.
The load is a 45 watt, 220 volt, 50 Hz electrical fan.
It is rated for 0.35 amps. Therefore the power factor of
the load is (45 / (220*0.35)) = 58%.
Battery Backup: Battery used to discharge at a rate
of 0.875 amps. For one deep discharge cycle, 40AH
battery can provide a backup of 40/0.875 = 45.7 hours.
For a discharge from 13.6 V 11 V battery provides a
backup of 45.7*2.6/12 = 9.9 hours. That is backup is 9.9
hours while charger is disabled.
But since the battery is kept in charge mode
continuously by means of 50 m amps, net discharge rate
will be 875 50 = 825m amps. Therefore the backup
will increase to 40/ 0.825 = 48.48 hours for 12 volt range.
For 2.6 volts from 13.6 to 11 volt discharge, backup
will be 48.48*2.6/12 = 10.5 hours.
Therefore % age increase in the backup will be
(Bn Bo)/ Bo * 100,
That is (10.5 9.9) / 9.9 = 6 %.
Battery Lifetime: Battery lifetime will be specified
in terms of number of Cycle Life. One Cycle Life is the
process of charging a battery to its maximum value and
then discharging to its deep discharge level or to some
specified discharge value. Usually zero volts will be
considered as deep discharge level. Lead Acid battery
will have a lifetime of around 500 cycle life. After its
specified number of cycle life, the battery still holds
charge but its capacity will be reduced. A 40 AH battery
has a one cycle life of charging from 11 volts to 13.6
volts and discharging back to 11 volts. If the battery is
19
discharged below 11 volts it will be charged using float
charge. If on fully charge, then battery will be kept in
trickle charge mode with a charge rate of 50m amps.
Therefore the net discharge rate will decreases to 825m
amps from previous 875m amps. When the discharge
rate decreases it takes much more time to deep discharge
thereby increasing the duration between two cycle times.
For a 40 AH battery at a discharge rate of 875m
amps it takes 3.3 hours for 1 volt discharge. For 2.6 volt
discharge from 13.6 to 11 volt it takes 9.9 hours. If the
cycle life of this battery is 500, then its lifetime will be
(9.9 * 500) = 4950 hours.
Now with discharge rate of 825m amps because of
trickle charging, it takes 10.5 hours of discharge time
from 13.6 to 11 volt. Now the lifetime will be (10.5*500)
= 5250 hours.
Therefore increase in the lifetime will be (5250
4950) / 4950 = 6%.
4. CONCLUSION
The results showed that by means of trickle charging
UPS backup increased by 6%. Also it can be estimated
that the lifetime of the battery also increased by 6%.
That is if without the trickle charging and necessary
protection, lifetime may be, say, 1000 hours. Now with
added protection and trickle charging lifetime will be
1040 hours.
The monitoring system for solar based UPS with all
the protections gives a longer lifetime of the device.
Backup of the battery is more sufficient to run appliances
up to a load capacity of 5 amps. Assuming a sunny light
of 6 hours a day, I can continuously charge the battery
for 6 hours everyday. In that period of time I can run all
of my appliances and electronic devices including
computers with the UPS alone without depending on the
utility AC supply. Also if the panel used is big or if the
efficiency of solar cells is high and the battery capacity
is huge then during that 6 hours I can charge the battery
as much as possible. So the battery along with the Inverter
can be used to run the load till the battery provides the
backup.
REFERENCE
[1] PWM-Mid Range MC DS33023 Reference Manual
[2] ANSI/IEEE std. 466 (1986), Emergency and
Standby Power Systems.
[3] ISA CE736502, Branch Circuit Protection for
Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems.
[4] A Simulated Power Quality Disturbance Recognition
System (Paper for ICAI03) TR No. CIT/18/2003,
Dr Jiansheng Huang June 22-26, 2003 Las Vegas USA
20 International Journal of Electrical Systems and Control (IJESC)
[5] Lune, C., Foroozan, S., Brewer, J., and Jackson, L.,
1994, Adiabatic Charging of Nickel-Hydrogen
Batteries, Proceedings, 27th NASA Aerospace
Battery Workshop, Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, AL, pp. 581-598.
[6] Niagara Mohawk Deficiency Report 1-96-2575, UPS
F2 Fuse Actuations, 2/20/-1996.
[7] Santhosh, Sandeep, Dr. M.L.SudheerDetection
and Estimation of Voltage Disturbances using Wavelet
Transforms, Proceedings of the 10th International
Conference on EMI and EMC, INCEMIC-2008,
Bangalore, [81-86].
[8] Muhammand Rashid, Power Electronics Circuits
Devices and Applications Third Edition, 2004.
[9] Power Electronics by P.C.Sen, Tata McGraw-Hill Edition.
[10] Power Electronics by Cyril W. Lander 3 rd Edition,
McGraw Hill Ed.
[11] Power Electronics by B.R.Gupta, V. Singhal 4th Ed.
[12] Power Electronics Converter, Applications and Design
by Mohan, Undeland, Robbins.