Bonfring International Journal of Power Systems and Integrated Circuits, Vol. 9, No.

1, March 2019 5

Automated Switching Solar Power Grid Tie

Inverter Using Embedded System
J. Michael Jayaraj, T. Mounick Raj, G. Venkatesh and S. Vasanth Raj

Abstract--- In this system solar power source is used to back in 1954, this technology had come across huge
reduce the power source from the grid and this process mainly improvement and development. Starting with a few watts
focused on switching power from one source to another during standalone system, up to date, we can find huge solar plant
the time of low voltage from the solar power system. This with capacity over few megawatts that connected to the power
system consists of embedded system, ADC, SCU, solar panel, grid. With the increase of the PV system capacity and the
inverter, drivers, step up transformer, switching unit, load, interconnection with the existing power grid, it pushes the
keypad, display, power supply, and grid in this process solar design of the PV system to the limit. One of the major parts of
panel is used which produce DC voltage and the amount of the PV system is the conversion of the DC power from the
power produced from the solar power system is monitored by photovoltaic module to the AC source that allows the system
the signal conditioning unit (SCU), the output of the SCU is to connect to the existing power grid. Solar energy is not
given to the ADC. ADC is used to convert the analog signal to directly interfaced with the utility grid because of its economic
the digital signal. The digital signal is given to the embedded reasons. Hence power electronics interfaces such as an
system. The embedded system is programmed to activate the inverter offer the necessary means to convert the constant
driver and also display the voltage and current details through voltage output of the photovoltaic panels into a useable
LCD. Then the DC voltage from the solar power system is sinusoidal AC power in grid-connected photovoltaic system.
converted into AC by using inverter. The inverter is controlled
by the embedded system using drivers. Then the inverted
voltage is boosted by using step up transformer and finally the
power is supplied to the load by using switching unit.
Switching unit is controlled by the embedded system by using
drivers. This entire process is monitored and controlled by
embedded system. In embedded system minimum and
maximum limits are defined by using keypad to change the
load setting. During peak sun hours between 11am-3.00pm
maximum amounts of power is produced.
Keywords--- Solar Panel, Driver, Controller, Display,
Relay, LM 324, Battery, Inverter.

I. INTRODUCTION The world demand for electric energy is constantly

W ITH the increase of the human population and the rapid
growth in the worldwide economic, the demand of the
electricity increases tremendously. With the conventional and
classical electricity generation by burning the fossil fuel to
fulfil the electricity demand is not a proper way because of the
emission of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This
has given a new opportunity for the renewable energy where
normally the cost of installation and production of energy will
be higher. One of this renewable energy is the energy from the
sun or also knows as solar energy. Photovoltaic, PV is a
technology where the energy from the sun is converted into
electrical energy. Since the first solar cell had been fabricated
J. Michael Jayaraj, Department of EEE, Sri Shakthi Institute of
Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India.
T. Mounick Raj, Department of EEE, Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Coimbatore, India.
G. Venkatesh, Department of EEE, Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Coimbatore, India.
S. Vasanth Raj, Department of EEE, Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Coimbatore, India.
DOI:10.9756/BIJPSIC.9010
increasing, and conventional energy resources are diminishing
and are even threatened to be depleted. Moreover; their prices
are rising Due to the increasing efficiencies and decreasing
cost of photovoltaic cells and the improvement of the
switching technology used for power conversion, our goal is
to design an inverter powered by PV panels and that could
supply stand-alone AC loads. Solar panels produce direct
currents (DC), and to connect these panels to the electricity
grid or use them in other industrial applications, we should
have an AC output at a certain required voltage level and
frequency. The conversion from DC to AC is essentially
accomplished by means of a DC-AC inverter, which is the
major component in the system. Yet, the output of the solar
panels is not continuously constant and is related to the
instantaneous sunlight intensity and ambient temperature.
II. PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY
The most blooming and convenient source of renewable
energy is solar energy, which can be harnessed by
photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic cells are the basic of the solar

ISSN 2277-5072 | © 2019 Bonfring

Bonfring International Journal of Power Systems and Integrated Circuits, Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2019
system. The word photovoltaic comes from “photo” means
light and “voltaic” means producing electricity. Therefore, the
photovoltaic process is “producing electricity directly from
sunlight”. The amount of light projected on the cell will
mediate the output power of a photovoltaic cell. The factors
behind the output power are Time of the day, season, panel
position and orientation. Photovoltaic cells are the miniature
part of a solar panel. At the time when sun is directly aligned
with the panel gives maximum power output of solar panel.
III. SOLAR INVERTER SCHEMATICS
Methodology
In this process solar panel is used which produce 24V DC
and the amount of power produced from the solar power
system is monitored by the signal conditioning unit (SCU), the
output of the SCU is given to the ADC. ADC is used to
convert the analog signal to the digital signal. The digital
signal is given to the embedded system. The embedded system
is programmed to activate the driver and also display the
voltage and current details through LCD. Then the DC voltage
from the solar power system is converted into AC by using
inverter. The inverter is controlled by the embedded system
using drivers.Then the inverted voltage is boosted by using
step up transformer and finally the power is supplied to the
load by using switching unit. Switching unit is controlled by
the embedded system by using drivers. Driver is used for
controlling the relay unit. During low power from the solar
power system switching unit automatically disconnects solar
power source and connects to grid. This entire process is
monitored and controlled by embedded system. In embedded
system minimum and maximum limits are defined by using
keypad to change the load setting. During peak sun hours
between 11am to 3.00pm maximum amounts of power is
produced.
Analog to Digital Converter
ADC0809 is a successive approximation type analog to
digital converter. The successive approximation technique
uses a very efficient code search strategy to complete n bit
conversion in just n clock periods. The circuit uses a
successive approximation register to find the required value by
trial and error.
The ADC0809 data acquisition component is a monolithic
CMOS device with an 8 bit analog to digital converter, 8
channel multiplexer and microprocessor compatible control
logic. The converter features a high impedance chopper.
Stabilized comparator, a 256R voltage divider with analog
switch tree and a successive approximation register.
LM 324
The LM324 is the most cost-effective solution for the low
voltage operation, space saving and low price are needed.
LM324 is a 14 pin IC consisting of four independent
operational amplifiers compensated in a single package of IC
saves space on PC boards and enables the design of small
portable electronic devices. The output of the comparator is
high if the voltage at the positive end is more than the voltage
at the negative end and gives low output if the voltage at the
positive end is lesser than the negative end. If LDR1 is
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covered and LDR2 is in the light. The resistance of LDR1
increases and the entire voltage drop takes place across it, thus
positive input pin of opamp becomes high while the resistance
of LDR2 becomes low.
High Voltage Driver
High voltage driver has a quality to engage and which has
been specially designed for low inertia, symmetrical rotation,
The IR2110/IR2113 are high voltage, high speed power
MOSFET and IGBT drivers with independent high and low
side referenced output channels. It works on the principle of
bootstraps. This driver consists of two inputs and two outputs.
When one pair acts for high voltage and another for low
voltage. In this driver unit two IR2110 and 4 MOSFETs are
selected to form bridge. Two bootstrap capacitors are used.
The circuit diagram of MOSFET driver shown in the fig 3.4.
Signals from buffer are given to the driver through opto
isolator. When the first 2110 receive high voltage input it
drives the first MOSFET at the same time second 2110
receives low voltage input which triggers the fourth MOSFET.
Now MOSFETs 1 and 4 are conducting which connects the
motor to the supply.
Display
Liquid crystal display is an electronic display device that
operates by applying a varying electric voltage to a layer of
liquid crystal, thereby inducing changes in its optical
properties. The basic module of an LCD should be
controllably changed with respect to the applied electric
current. LCDs are used in a wide range of applications
including LCD televisions, instrument panels, indoor and
outdoor signage. The LCD screen is more energy-efficient
and can be disposed of more safely and is used to display the
status of the PV panel direction.
Relay
The relay driver circuit is enabled certain time duration
only, such enable pulse is depended by delay programming of
microcontroller, here darling circuit has been two transistors
made connection of cascade network, if input is set to base of
the first transistor, then that is turn on and emitter current of
that turn the another one. Hereby the circuit is closed through
coil and second transistor, now the energized coil is
controlling the contactors that are change the normally open to
close and normally closed to open connection. The enabled
signal is not essential after energized that coil because
transistor collector current maintains the transistors in
saturation state continuously.
The induction effect may be affecting the indication
components and another thing, so diode is connected across
the coil which can prevents the chopping effect the inverse
magnitude of magnetic field shorted across from coil.
Pic microcontroller
PIC microcontrollers are a family of specialized
microcontroller chips produced by Microchip Technology in
Chandler, Arizona. The acronym PIC stands for "peripheral
interface controller, The name PIC initially referred to
"Peripheral Interface Controller".
Bonfring International Journal of Power Systems and Integrated Circuits, Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2019
PICs are popular with developers and hobbyists alike due
to their low cost, wide availability, large user base, extensive
collection of application notes, availability of low cost or free
development tools, and serial programming (and
reprogramming with flash memory) capability of core
systems. The PIC architecture is distinctively minimalist. It is
characterized by the following features: Separate code and
data spaces (Harvard architecture) A small number of fixed
length instructions. Most instructions are single cycle
execution (4 clock cycles), with single delay cycles upon
branches and skips. A single accumulator (W), the use of
which (as source operand) is implied (i.e. is not encoded in the
opcode) All RAM locations function.
Battery
Batteries for PV system batteries generally have to
discharge a smaller current for a longer period of time, such as
at night or during a power outage, while being charged during
the day. For the purpose of discharging to a lower capacity,
between 50% and 80%, than a conventional battery Deep
cycle batteries are designed. Lead acid battery is commonly
used for deep cycle discharge
IV. WORKING PRINCIPLE
ADC
SCU SOURCE
INVERTER
DRIVER
EMBEDDED
SYSTEM
STEP UP
TRANSFORMER
DRIVER SWITCHING
UNIT
DISPLAY LOAD GRID
KEYPAD
POWER
SUPPLY
Solar System Working
Solar photovoltaic (PV)system is like any other electrical
power generation systems in terms of the output except for the
source of the power is Solar radiation. The conversion of Solar
radiation to the electrical power is based on the photovoltaic
principles. However, the principles of operation of the
connected load and interfacing with other electrical systems
remain the same. Though solar PV array produces power
when exposed to sunlight, a number of other components are
required to properly conduct, control, convert, distribute, and
transform the energy produced by the array. The ac voltage,
typically 220V rms, is connected to a transformer, which steps
that ac voltage down to the level of the desired dc output. A
diode rectifier then provides a full-wave rectified voltage that
is initially filtered by a simple capacitor filter to produce a dc
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voltage. This resulting dc voltage usually has some ripple or
ac voltage variation.
Pic Controller
As registers as both source and/or destination of math and
other functions. A hardware stack for storing return addresses.
A fairly small amount of addressable data space (typically 256
bytes), extended through banking. Data space mapped CPU,
port, and peripheral registers. The program counter is also
mapped into the data space and writable (this is used to
implement indirect jumps). Unlike most other CPUs, there is
no distinction between memory space and register space
because the RAM serves the job of both memory and registers
and the RAM is usually just referred to as the register file or
simply as the registers.
The daily movement causes the sun to appear in east to
west direction over the earth whereas the annual motion
causes thesun to tilt at an angle of 30 degrees while moving
along east-west direction. The motor is fixed to the shaft with
the help of belt as the motor start to rotate the shaft get rotate
and with the help of the shaft the solar panel will be move.
The control unit computes the sun tracking algorithm and
coordinates the movement of the positioning system. The
positioning system moves the panel to face the sun at the
Optimum angles.
Transformer
Transformer is a device used either for stepping up or
stepping down of the AC supply voltage with a corresponding
decreases or increases in the current. Here, a centre tapped
transformer is used for stepping down the voltage so as to get
a voltage that can be regulated to get a constant 12V. In this
project, to satisfy these requirements, we make use of 1.0A,
12V-0-12V transformer.
The display unit is used to display the direction of the sun
either in east or west direction. First the solar panel is placed
in the east direction in early morning where sun rises. Later
the sun moves to the west direction then the Pv panel tilt
towards west direction which can display in LCD using
LABVIEW program.
Transformer Designing
In the field of electronics and electrical new technology is
progressing day by day. Attempts are being made in the
electronic field to replace the coils and transformer with
another substitute. For example some decade back it was not
consider proper to use the resistance as a load in the RF
circuit, but now resistance are being made film types. These
resistances are being used in high frequency and RF current
circuit without any fear. Now computer age has come. Now it
is possible to count the copper turns without talking out the
core from the transformer. It has become very easy to
calculate the copper turns for a new transformer. Now a days
special integrated circuits are available with special circuit
technique without soils and transformer. This special circuit
technique is called phase locked loop system. This is used in
FM transmitter and receiver. The transformer and coils ate not
used in phase locked loop system except power supply system.
Bonfring International Journal of Power Systems and Integrated Circuits, Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2019
Efficiency Hardware Mode
V. SUMMARY
The project is an attempt to design automated switching
solar grid tie inverter using embedded system. This project
overcome disadvantage like switching losses and late response
of switch. Here the number of MOSFETs is reduced to four, to
reduce the cost of the switching circuit and reduce the grid
supply so that power will be efficient. This system consists of
embedded system, MOSFET driver, MOSFET inverter,
isolator, regulator, signal conditioning unit, keypad,
transformer 230v-12v and 0-230v (9-6-0-6-9), SMPS
(switched mode power supply) 230vAC to 12vDC and Load
power supply.
The SMPS is used here to generate 12v dc supply the 230v
supply is given to the SMPS convert the 230v ac to 12v dc and
given to the load. In this project embedded system plays a
major role. Embedded system is programmed to control the
MOSFET inverter for on off time period to help the inverter to
convert ac to dc power. The ac is used for ac load applications.
The LM7805 get 12v dc supply and convert to 5v dc supply
there are 3 ports 12v-5v-ground the 5v dc supply is given to
the PIC. And PORT D of pic microcontroller is connected is
to the LCD display. So that we can monitor the voltage level
and inverter status. By using keypad the inverter will be
controlled the keypad delay time is 10um to avoid wrong press
by the users to protect the system. The signal conditioning unit
is connected to the load transformer the SCU monitor the
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SMPS and give the analog status to the PIC. The SCU get
electrical signal from solar power and convert to analog signal
and PIC have ADC to convert analog to digital.
The reference voltage of microcontroller can be varied by
the program dumped in the microcontroller here the reference
voltage is 11v. If the solar output voltage is greaterthan 11v
means the inverter state is trigged. If the solar output voltage
is lesser than 11vmeans the inverter is in off state. The
following table 4.2 shows the variation for the different solar
output based on the reference voltage. The state of the inverter
is displayed in the LCD.
VI. CONCLUSION
The automated switching solar grid tie inverter using
embedded system is used to reduce grid supply and MOSFET
inverter have the quick response to convert dc to ac here the
load will run by the 12 dc that given SMPS that will go to the
inverter and dc will converted to ac and given to load if the
solar power will reach the reference voltage limit 11v means
the load will automatically run by the grid 230v supply here
the embedded program help to achieve the process of
disconnect the inverter and connect to grid supply and the time
delay for the inverter is given by the PIC microcontroller and
here the rectifier part is used convert ac to dc to give the
power to the controller parts the controller is used by dc
supply if inverter current below 11v the reference voltage
means the solar power will be disconnected and connect to the
grid supply in automatic manner.
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