902 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 52, NO.

4, NOVEMBER 2010

Leakage Current Analytical Model and Application

in Single-Phase Transformerless Photovoltaic
Grid-Connected Inverter
Huafeng Xiao, Student Member, IEEE, and Shaojun Xie, Member, IEEE

Abstract—Due to the characteristics of low cost and high effi-

ciency, the transformerless photovoltaic (PV) grid-connected in-
verters have been popularized in the application of solar electric
generation system in residential market. Unfortunately, the leak-
age current through the stray capacitors between the PV array
and the ground is harmful. This paper focuses on the leakage cur-
rent suppressing method, in which all common-mode paths are
considered. First, the common-mode analytical model at switching
frequency is developed, and the rules of eliminating switching fre-
quency common-mode source are summarized based on this model.
The existing full-bridge- and half-bridge-type converters have been
analyzed by using the developed model and rules, and then, a new
full-bridge-type converter structure and a compensation strategy
for half-bridge-type inverter have been presented finally.
Index Terms—Common-mode model, grid-connected inverter,
leakage current, transformerless. Fig. 1. Percentages of grid-connected and off-grid PV power in the IEA PVPS
countries, data from literature [1].

I. INTRODUCTION
conversion efficiency. Inserting a high-frequency transformer
BOUT 5.56 GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity had been
A installed in the International Agency Photovoltaic Power
Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) countries during 2008 (an
in the front stage of the PV system is an alternative method,
which significantly reduces the size and weight. However, this
method makes the power processing more complex, and there
increase of about 150% over the previous year), which brought
is no marked improvement in system efficiency.
the total installed capacity to 13.4 GW. More than 98% were
An inverter structure without transformer is promising to pop-
installed in grid-connected projects, which now make up 94.5%
ularize grid-connected domestic distributed PV systems due to
of the cumulative installed PV capacity [1], shown in Fig. 1.
its higher efficiency and lower cost [2]. Nowadays, most of the
However, the PV system is still too expensive compared to other
PV systems are dedicated to the residential market with typical
energy sources, thus a significant effort must do to increase the
system sizes around 2–10 kW. When no transformer is used,
efficiency and reduce the cost of PV power generation system
a galvanic connection appears between the PV arrays and the
[2]–[6].
grid [13], [14]. Due to the stray capacitance between the PV
PV power generation system usually consists of solar array
array and the ground, the final paths of conducted noise form
(generator) and power conversion unit [7], [8]. The inverter can
are shown in Fig. 2. From the point of view of the spectral
achieve the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the solar
components, iCM includes a fundamental component at the grid
panels [9]–[11] and inject a sinusoidal current into the grid [12].
frequency, such as 50 or 60 Hz; a medium frequency component
In most countries and areas, a low-frequency transformer is
at the switching frequency, whose scope is about 10–100 kHz
inserted to make galvanic isolation between PV modules and the
for domestic PV grid-connected inverter; and a high-frequency
grid, which ensures personal safety, and matches output voltage
component at 150 kHz–30 MHz span.
and suppresses the dc component into the grid. However, the
The common-mode current of transformerless PV grid-
transformer increases size, weight and cost, and reduces the
connected inverters must be suppressed by using some suitable
methods, and for different frequency bands, both the suppres-
Manuscript received January 19, 2010; revised May 5, 2010; accepted June sion measures and allowed level of common-mode current are
23, 2010. Date of publication September 7, 2010; date of current version Novem- different. Low-frequency common-mode current is mainly flow-
ber 17, 2010.
The authors are with the College of Automation Engineering, Nanjing Univer- ing through the path, which consists of the parasitic capacitor
sity of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210016, China (e-mail: of solar array and the grid grounding impedance. In low-power
xiaohf@nuaa.edu.cn; saloulin@ynet.com.cn). and low-voltage grid-connected inverters situation, the funda-
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. mental frequency common-mode current, of which the ampli-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TEMC.2010.2064169 tude is low (generally, less than 5 mA), may not be suppressed
0018-9375/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE
XIAO AND XIE: LEAKAGE CURRENT ANALYTICAL MODEL AND APPLICATION
Fig. 2. Conducted noise paths (iC M and iD M represent the common-mode current, and differential-mode current, respectively).
Fig. 3. Single-phase grid-connected inverter with parasitic parameters.
due to the large impedance of solar panels to ground and the
low-grid voltage amplitude. However, in the large centralized
grid-connected PV power station, the fundamental frequency
common-mode current sharply increases along with the increas-
ing of solar panels distributed capacitance and the grid voltage
amplitude. Therefore, the line-frequency transformer is needed
to suppress the low-frequency common-mode current and match
the grid voltage [15]; high-frequency common-mode current,
due to its high frequency, is mainly flowing through the para-
sitic capacitor of solar array and the inverter-to-ground parasitic
capacitor, and then, returns via the capacitive path of common-
mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter. In order to
meet international standards, such as IEC61000, an EMI fil-
ter will be designed to suppress high-frequency common-mode
noise [16]–[18]; Medium-frequency common-mode current at
inverter switching frequency is the most concerned common-
mode current component of transformerless PV grid-connected
inverters, and is also known as “leakage current” or “ground
current” [2], [3], [7]. Its flow paths contain the solar panels par-
asitic capacitor, parasitic capacitor between inverter and ground,
common-mode capacitors of EMI filter, and the grid grounding
impedance, etc. In order to ensure the safety of equipment and
personnel, the leakage current must be suppressed to a certain
level [19]. The idea of leakage current suppression is to elim-
inate the common-mode source at switching frequency, which
can be achieved mainly by certain converter structures and mod-
ulation methods. In addition, the elimination of switching fre-
quency common-mode source can also significantly reduce the
energy of high-frequency common-mode source, thereby reduc-
903
ing the burden of the EMI filter, and its volume can be reduced
further.
In order to eliminate the common-mode source at switching
frequency, its inducing principle must be understood correctly
and completely. Therefore, a common-mode analytical model
for the transformerless grid-connected inverter is crucial in order
to provide theoretical support for the leakage current suppres-
sion technique research. Literature [2] presented a comprehen-
sible model and procedure to study the common-mode issue
of the transformerless PV systems. Unfortunately, for the sake
of convenience, the final model did not include the parasitic
capacitor of bridge legs. Therefore, full-scale message about
common-mode current paths is lost.
This paper develops a full-scale leakage current analytical
model at switching frequency based on the single-phase bridge-
type grid-connected inverter, and concludes two rules of sup-
pressing the common-mode source of switching frequency. The
common-mode behavior of full-bridge-type and half-bridge-
type inverter has been analyzed by using the developed model
and rules. Finally, a new conversion structure for full-bridge in-
verter and a compensation strategy for three-level neutral point
clamped (NPC) inverter are proposed.
II. LEAKAGE CURRENT ANALYTICAL MODEL FOR
TRANSFORMERLESS GRID-CONNECTED INVERTER
AT SWITCHING FREQUENCY
The circuit structure of the single-phase grid-connected in-
verter is shown in Fig. 3, which can be evolved into a full-bridge
904 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 52, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 2010

circuit if the Leg1 and Leg2 are switches; or a half-bridge cir-

cuit as one leg is capacitor leg and the other is switch leg.
If the switch leg of the half-bridge circuit is three-level struc-
ture, it represents as a single-phase three-level NPC inverter
(shown in Fig. 12(a)]. In Fig. 3, Cpv1 and Cpv2 represent the
stray capacitance between solar panels and the ground, which
are dependent on the material and size of the solar array, soil
properties, air humidity, installation style, etc., [13], [14]. C1
and C2 are the parasitic capacitances between the midpoint of
Fig. 4. Common-mode equivalent model for single-phase grid-connected in-
the bridge leg and the ground (mainly formed by silicon de- verter at medium-frequency range.
vices to the heat sink [20]). L1 and L2 are filter inductances.
In order to achieve a “general” model for bridge-type inverter,
the circuit parameters (e.g., L1 and L2 , C1 and C2 ) are discre- sistent with literature [2], the derivation of the equivalent circuit
tionary (that means “symmetrical” or ‘asymmetrical’; ZLine1 model (see Fig. 4) has been described in detail in [2], where,
and ZLine2 are line impedances (mainly inductive [21]). ZG rep-
resents the impedance between grid ground and chassis ground vDM (ZL 2 + Z2 ) − (ZL 1 + Z1 )
of the inverter; CX 1 and CX 2 are differential-mode capacitances vA = (5)
2 ZL 1 + ZL 2 + Z1 + Z2
in EMI filter; LDM and LCM are differential-mode inductance
and common-mode inductance, respectively; CY1 and CY2 are (ZL 1 + Z1 ) (ZL 2 + Z2 )
ZA = (6)
common-mode capacitances. This paper focuses on medium- ZL 1 + ZL 2 + Z1 + Z2
frequency range, and no considering the parasitic parameter vDM ZC 2 − ZC 1
of the filter components. Its complicated model (e.g., L-C-R vB = (7)
2 ZC 1 + ZC 2
model) is needed for high-frequency range in EMI filter de-
ZC 1 ZC 2
sign [22]–[24], [27], [28]. ZB = . (8)
Assume the negative terminal “N ” of solar panels as the ZC 1 + ZC 2
reference point, the bridge leg midpoints “1” and “2” as output The detailed expressions of Z1 , Z2 , and Z3 are listed in bot-
terminal. According to the definitions of differential-mode and tom of the page. In this paper, the branch of vA defined as “filter
common-mode voltage, vCM and vDM are related to v1N and branch,” includes the grid current filter, EMI filter, and grid par-
v2N , as shown in the following: asitic parameters, and plays a leading role in the impedance of
v1N + v2N leakage current path. Similarly, the branch of vB defined as “par-
vCM = (1)
2 asitic branch,” is made up of the parasitic capacitors between
vDM = v1N − v2N . (2) the midpoint of the bridge leg and the ground, and has an influ-
ence on the impedance of leakage current path. Nevertheless,
Combining (1) with (2), v1N and v2N can be expressed as the parasitic branch of the common-mode equivalent models is
follows: ignored in final leakage current analytical model in literature [2]
vCM + vDM under the assumption that the stray capacitance C1 and C2 are
v1N = (3)
2 identical.
vCM − vDM In order to analyze and understand the common-mode be-
v2N = . (4)
2 havior of the single-phase grid-connected inverter at medium-
In order to derive the common-mode model at switching fre- frequency range, a full-scale leakage current analytical model
quency (i.e., leakage current analytical model), expression (3) considering the parasitic branch can be derived, as shown in
and (4) are substituted for the bridge leg in Fig. 3. Therefore, Fig. 5.
based on “superposition principle,” the differential-mode branch
and element can be moved while only the common-mode branch vA ZB + vB (ZA + Z3 + ZLCM )
vCM −DM = (12)
and element are retained. Grid voltage source can be shorted for ZA + Z3 + ZLCM + ZB
medium-frequency common-mode equivalent circuit. Finally, ZB (ZA + Z3 + ZLCM )
an equivalent circuit is gained, as shown in Fig. 4, which is con- Z= . (13)
ZA + Z3 + ZLCM + ZB

ZLine1 ZCY1 2ZLine2 ZG ZCY1 + 2ZLine1 ZG ZCY1 (ZLine2 + 2ZG + ZCY2 )/(ZLine1 + 2ZG + ZCY1 )
Z1 = + (9)
ZLine1 + 2ZG + ZCY1 (ZLine1 + ZCY1 ) (ZLine2 + 2ZG + ZCY2 ) + (ZLine2 + ZCY2 ) (ZLine1 + 2ZG + ZCY1 )
ZLine2 ZCY2 2ZLine1 ZG ZCY2 + 2ZLine2 ZG ZCY2 (ZLine1 + 2ZG + ZCY1 )/(ZLine2 + 2ZG + ZCY2 )
Z2 = + (10)
ZLine2 + 2ZG + ZCY2 (ZLine1 + ZCY1 ) (ZLine2 + 2ZG + ZCY2 ) + (ZLine2 + ZCY2 ) (ZLine1 + 2ZG + ZCY1 )
2ZCY1 ZCY2 ZG
Z3 = (11)
(ZLine1 + ZCY1 ) (ZLine2 + 2ZG + ZCY2 ) + (ZLine2 + ZCY2 ) (ZLine1 + 2ZG + ZCY1 )
XIAO AND XIE: LEAKAGE CURRENT ANALYTICAL MODEL AND APPLICATION 905

Fig. 5. Simplest common-mode model for single-phase grid-connected in-

verter at medium-frequency range.

From the simplest leakage current analytical model, we can

conclude two rules to eliminate the leakage current: 1) for
symmetrical power topologies with zero vCM −DM , designing
a sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) strategy to con-
stant vCM ; 2) matching circuit parameters to make the sum of
vCM −DM and vCM be a constant.

III. ELIMINATING LEAKAGE CURRENT FOR

FULL-BRIDGE-TYPE INVERTER
The SPWM full-bridge inverter has received extensive at-
tentions owing to its excellent differential-mode characteristics,
such as higher dc voltage utilization ratio, smaller current rip-
ple in the filter inductor, etc., [4]–[7]. However, the switching
frequency common-mode voltage may be brought in under cer-
tain modulation strategy. In order to solve this problem, a lot of
researches, where new freewheel paths are constructed to sepa-
rate the PV array from the grid in freewheel period [4]–[6], have
been done. This section would analyze these topologies that are
shown in Fig. 6(a)–(c) using the developed model and rules,
and attempt to search new conversion structure and modulation
technique. Their operating principles can be referred in [4]–[6],
respectively.

A. Full-Bridge-Type Inverter Analysis Using Rule 1

The full-bridge-type inverter has symmetric power circuit,
and then, it can be considered that C1 = C2 , and ZLine1 =
ZLine2 . Using (5), (7), and (12), the case vCM −DM = 0 is ob-
tained by matching L1 = L2 , and CY1 = CY2 . Therefore, the
leakage current may be eliminated by choosing a certain SPWM
style to constant vCM . Tables I and II list the levels (pulse ampli-
tudes) and frequencies of vCM and vDM of full-bridge inverters
working in several kinds of SPWM modulations and circuit
structures.
From Table I and Fig. 7, it can be seen that bipolar SPWM
modulation has excellent common-mode characteristic, never- Fig. 6. Several transformerless grid-connected topologies. (a) Heric topol-
ogy proposed in literature [4]. (b) Topology proposed in literature [5], has
theless, its application is limited due to low-conversion effi- been named as H6 in this paper. (c) H5 topology proposed in literature [6].
ciency (suffer from the larger filter inductor and circulating (d) Proposed topology named as “iH5.”
current between the grid and the input dc capacitor) and poor
grid current quality. Unipolar SPWM modulations cannot be
solely used in transformerless full-bridge grid-connected in- being [5], [6], their topologies are shown in Fig. 6(a)–(c),
verters due to their poor common-mode characteristics (shown respectively.
in Fig. 8), but their higher conversion efficiency and grid current Fig. 9 shows the common-mode voltage experimental wave-
quality attract many scholars to explore new freewheel paths for forms in Heric, H6, and H5, respectively. According to rule 1, it
common-mode voltage suppression. Therefore, unipolar SPWM is required that the potential of freewheel path is clamped to half
modulations with ac bypass [4] and dc bypass have come into input voltage in freewheel interval. In H6 topology, the claim
906 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 52, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 2010
Fig. 7. Bipolar SPWM full-bridge inverter. (a) Differential-mode. (b) Common-mode. (u g : grid voltage; ig : grid current; u 1 2 : the differential-mode voltage
between point 1 and 2; u C M : the common-mode voltage; u 1 N : the differential-mode voltage between point 1 and N; and u 2 N : the differential-mode voltage
between point 2 and N. The key circuit parameter can refer to Table III.)
TABLE I
v C M AND v D M COMPARING UNDER DIFFERENT SPWM STYLE WITH
FULL-BRIDGE STRUCTURE
TABLE II
v C M AND v D M COMPARING UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUIT STRUCTURES WITH
UNIPOLAR SPWM
has been satisfied by double clamping branch, whose common-
mode voltage uCM is a constant as bipolar SPWM modulation.
Unfortunately, the common-mode voltage uCM of Haric and
H5 include switching frequency component still, and this is be-
cause the potential of freewheel path cannot be reliably clamped
in freewheel and its level depends on the parasitic parameters of
the path and the grid voltage amplitude. Therefore, in order to
avoid the leakage current in unipolar SPWM full-bridge inverter
completely, it is required that the potential of freewheel path is
clamped to half input voltage in freewheel interval rather than
TABLE III
PARAMETERS OF UNIVERSAL FULL-BRIDGE GRID-CONNECTED INVERTER
RATED 1 kW
disconnecting the PV array from the grid simply. Finally, two
switches and a capacitor divider are introduced into full-bridge
inverter [as shown in Fig. 6(d)] to form a bidirectional clamp-
ing branch, which guarantees that freewheel path is clamped to
half input voltage in freewheel interval. By the way, the output
current flows through only three switches in power processing
period so that the conduction losses can be decreased effectively.
The detailed theoretic analyses and experiment results can be
referred in [26].
In order to verify the accuracy of the developed leakage cur-
rent analytical model and the effects on the leakage current made
by parameter asymmetry. A 1-kW full-bridge grid-connected in-
verter with bipolar SPWM prototype is built in our laboratory,
the main parameters of the prototype are listed in Table III.
The grid voltage and current waveforms, the leakage current
waveforms and spectrums are shown in Fig. 10 under different
inductance distribution, while its sum is a constant. We can see
that the leakage current (i.e., common-mode current of switch-
ing frequency at point of common coupling) increases sharply
along with the expanding of inductance difference.
XIAO AND XIE: LEAKAGE CURRENT ANALYTICAL MODEL AND APPLICATION 907

Fig. 8. Unipolar SPWM full-bridge inverter. (a) Differential-mode. (b) Common-mode. (u g : grid voltage; ig : grid current; u 1 2 : differential-mode voltage
between point 1 and 2; u C M : common-mode voltage; u 1 N : differential-mode voltage between point 1 and N; and u 2 N : differential-mode voltage between point
2 and N. The key circuit parameter can refer to Table III.)

Fig. 9. Common-mode voltage of several improved full-bridge topologies. (a) Heric. (b) H6. (c) H5. (u g : grid voltage, 400 V/div; ig : grid current, 6.7 A/div;
u 1 N : differential-mode voltage between point 1 and 2, 200 V/div; u 2 N : differential-mode voltage between point 2 and N, 200 V/div; u C M : common-mode voltage,
200 V/div, and time: 4 ms/div. The key circuit parameter can refer to Table III.)

Fig. 11 shows the grid voltage and current waveforms, the
leakage current waveforms and spectrums under different para-
sitic capacitances distribution of bridge leg. The leakage current
increases slowly along with parasitic capacitance C2 rising.
From Table IV, we can see that the effect of filter branch on
leakage current is severer than parasitic branch evidently. The
experimental results are in agreement with the theoretical anal-
ysis well.
B. Full-Bridge-Type Inverter Analysis Using Rule 2
Using the aforementioned leakage current model, it has been
discussed that matching circuit parameters can make the sum
of vCM −DM and vCM be a constant so that the leakage current
can be eliminated too. Using unipolar SPWM modulation in
full-bridge inverter, the working levels in one switching period
are listed in Table V, where a, b, c, d are derived from (5), (7),
908 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 52, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 2010

Fig. 10. Leakage current waveforms and spectrum with different distribution of filter inductances L 1 and L 2 in bipolar SPWM full-bridge inverter
(a) L 1 = 4 mH and L 2 = 4 mH. (b) L 1 = 3 mH and L 2 = 5 mH. (c) L 1 = 2 mH and L 2 = 6 mH. (d) L 1 = 1 mH and L 2 = 7 mH. (u g : grid voltage;
ig : grid current; iL e a ka g e : common-mode current at point of common coupling; M: spectrum of iL e a ka g e ; and I2 0 k H z : leakage current component at switching
frequency of PV grid-connected inverter.)

Fig. 11. Leakage current waveforms and spectrum with different parasitic capacitances C 2 in bipolar SPWM full-bridge inverter (a) C 1 = 0 pF and C 2 = 50 pF.
(b) C 1 = 0 pF and C 2 = 100 pF. (c) C 1 = 0 pF and C 2 = 220 pF. (d) C 1 = 0 pF and C 2 = 470 pF. (u g : grid voltage; ig : grid current; iL e a ka g e : common-mode
current at point of common coupling; M: spectrum of iL e a ka g e ; and I2 0 k H z : leakage current component at switching frequency of PV grid-connected inverter.)
XIAO AND XIE: LEAKAGE CURRENT ANALYTICAL MODEL AND APPLICATION 909

TABLE IV by (5), (7), and (12). Therefore, the leakage current may be
TEST DATA UNDER ASYMMETRIC PARAMETERS
eliminated by choosing a certain SPWM style to constant vCM .
The conventional three-level NPC grid-connected inverter is
shown in Fig. 12(a), in which the switch leg consists of a series
of S1 − S4 , and the midpoint 1 is connected to grid through the
inductor L1 + L2 . The clamp diodes D5 and D6 are connected
to the point 2, so that voltage stresses of all power devices are
clamped to half of the input voltage when the switches are OFF.
The output voltage is positive when the both switches S1 and
S2 are ON, while it is zero as S2 and S3 ON and becomes
negative as S3 and S4 ON. Unipolar SPWM modulation, which
is suitable for three- and multilevel structures, outputs positive
TABLE V and zero levels in the positive-half cycle of the grid voltage,
OPERATION LEVEL OF FULL-BRIDGE INVERTER WITH UNIPOLAR SPWM while negative and zero levels in the negative half. However,
bipolar SPWM modulation is different. It outputs positive and
negative levels in whole cycle of the grid voltage. Table VI lists
the levels and frequencies of vCM and vDM of three-level NPC
inverters working in the aforementioned two kinds of SPWM
modulations.
It can be seen that whether working in bipolar or unipolar
modulation, the level of vCM changes both at switching fre-
quency. The reason is that, the voltage of point 2, which is the
midpoint of capacitor leg is a constant, while the voltage of
the midpoint of switch leg, i.e., point 1, varies as SPWM mod-
and (12). ulation, as a result v1N + v2N cannot maintain constant, and
⎧
⎪ (ZL 2 + Z2 ) − (ZL 1 + Z1 ) the ac bypass and dc bypass technique, which is usually used in
⎪
⎪ a=
⎪
⎪ ZL 1 + ZL 2 + Z1 + Z2 full-bridge circuit structure are also limited to apply to the three-
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ level NPC circuit structure [4]–[6]. So, the rule 1 is infeasible
⎪
⎪ ZC 2 − ZC 1
⎪b =
⎨ for half-bridge inverter structure.
ZC 1 + ZC 2
(14)
⎪
⎪ ZB
⎪
⎪ c= B. Half-Bridge-Type Inverter Analysis Using Rule 2
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
ZA + Z3 + ZLCM + ZB
⎪
⎪ Rule 2 requires a constant value of the sum of vCM −DM and
⎪
⎪ ZA + Z3 + ZLCM
⎩d = . vCM by matching properly component parameters, so that the
ZA + Z3 + ZLCM + ZB leakage current can be eliminated. Literature [2] gives the op-
From Table V, we can find that it is impossible to suppress the eration levels of three-level NPC single-phase grid-connected
leakage currents for full-bridge inverter under unipolar SPWM inverter, which are shown in Table VII too. It is obvious that the
modulation by matching component parameters, such as L1 , expression vCM + vCM −DM = Upv /2 can be gained under the
L2 and (or) C1 , C2 . The reason is that vCM + vCM −DM is in assuming of zero parasitic capacitances C1 and C2 in conven-
inequality in two kinds of freewheel path. tional analysis. However, the parasitic parameters C1 and C2 are
It is infeasible for full-bridge inverter structure to act rule 2, not equal (usually C1 > C2 [21]) due to the different construc-
however, it may be effective in other topology structure. tion mechanism. Therefore, vB does not equal to zero any more.
Usually, it is larger than zero and brings a negative impact on the
IV. ELIMINATING LEAKAGE CURRENT FOR expectation for vCM −DM = −vDM /2. Moreover, even though
HALF-BRIDGE-TYPE INVERTER C1 and C2 are equal, the equation vCM −DM = −vDM /2 is no
longer completely reliable as the switching frequency increasing
Half-bridge-type inverter, for instance three-level NPC half-
under the prerequisite of ZA + Z3 + ZLCM  ZB according to
bridge inverter, has been adopted widely in PV grid-connected
the expression (12).
inverter product because of its nongeneration of variable
According to conventional analysis, filter branch vA shown
common-mode voltage theoretically [2], [3]. While the half-
in Fig. 4 can counteract the high-frequency pulse of vCM , and
bridge-type structures include two-, three-, or multilevel con-
this approach is named as “filter branch offset solution.” How-
verters, the three-level NPC inverter is chiefly analyzed and
ever, the compensation effectiveness is not perfect because the
studied here.
structure of three-level NPC inverter is asymmetric (made up
of capacitor leg and switch leg). Possible schemes are listed
A. Half-Bridge-Type Inverter Analysis Using Rule 1
in Table VIII, which have been derived from the developed
It is analyzed in rule 1, when L1 = L2 , CY1 = CY2 , C1 = leakage current analytical model. However, only the “full-offset
C2 , and ZLine1 = ZLine2 , the case vCM −DM = 0 is obtained solution” shown in Fig. 12(b) can be realistically achieved. The
910 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 52, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 2010
Fig. 12. Three-level NPC inverter with leakage current suppression. (a) Conventional structure. (b) Proposed structure.
TABLE VI
v C M AND v D M COMPARING UNDER DIFFERENT SPWM
TABLE VII
OPERATION LEVELS OF THREE-LEVEL NPC INVERTER WITH C 1 = C 2 = 0,
L 1 = L, L 2 = 0
parameter Ccom (its capacitance is usually limited by the safety
standard, such as IEC60950–1) should be carefully designed
to compensate the effects on leakage current by the leg para-
sitic parameters, which is a new approach for advanced perfor-
mance of the leakage current suppression. “Filter branch off-
set solution” falls inferior as its difficulty in determining the
value of C1 and this elimination solution is an approximate
method. Although, it can be accepted in adding some extra
capacitances (at least 10 times greater than the parasitic capaci-
tance), which makes the approximate matching C2 = C1 come
true, the high-frequency current of C1 rapidly increases due to
the high-frequency pulse of point 1, and the prerequisite of the
expression ZA + Z3 + ZLCM  ZB is weakened as C2 and C1
increasing.
In order to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the pro-
posed solution to eliminate the leakage current, a 1-kW three-
level NPC transformerless inverter prototype is built in our lab-
oratory. Corresponding studies on the conventional method and
the proposed methods is shown in this section. The main param-
eters of the prototype are listed in Table IX.
For convenience experimental testing, the solar panel is sim-
ulated by an adjustable dc source connected two additional
high-voltage ceramic capacitors (100 nF, for the 1.5 kWp
solar panel [13]). The capacitors are connected between the
positive/negative terminals of the dc source and the ground,
respectively.
1) Full-Offset Solution Verification: The compensation ca-
pacitance Ccom is especially designed to compensate for the ef-
fects of the leg parasitic parameters on leakage current, based on
the precondition L1 = L, L2 = 0. It is noted that the common-
mode path of the adjustable dc source is formed as the NPC
inverter connects up grid, and the leakage current I18 kHz exists
as the dc source works in high-frequency switching action (its
switching frequency is 18 kHz), while NPC inverter does not
work yet. This case is shown in Fig. 13(a). The pre-DC/DC
converter is absence in single-stage PV grid-connected inverter,
so disregarding this leakage current component induced by the
dc supply is reasonable. But, in a two-stage grid-connected in-
verter, the high-frequency common-mode current brought by the
pre-DC/DC converter should be eliminated too, especially, when
the second-stage inverter is a half-bridge inverter structure.
This can be seen, by adding an extra capacitor between the
midpoint 1 and the ground, for simulating the parasitic capaci-
tor in the midpoint of bridge leg, has effects on the suppression
effectiveness of the conventional method. The test data of the
leakage current (I20 kHz ) is shown in Table X (Ccom = 0 col-
umn). It can be seen that I20 kHz increases rapidly with C1
increasing. It can be predicted that with the switching frequency
increase, the impact of parasitic parameters will be more severe.
The test data of the leakage current changing with the switch-
ing frequency is listed in Table XI, their changing tendency is
consistent with forecast. Fig. 13(c) and (b) shows the experi-
mental waveforms and spectrums of the leakage current with
and without the compensation capacitor, respectively. It can be
seen that the compensation capacitor Ccom has significant sup-
pression on all leakage current components [25], especially on
I20 kHz and I18 kHz . With the parasitic capacitance C1 increas-
ing (such as C1 = 2.2 nF), the insertion loss of I20 kHz decreases
for the same compensation capacitance (such as Ccom = 10 nF).
XIAO AND XIE: LEAKAGE CURRENT ANALYTICAL MODEL AND APPLICATION 911

TABLE VIII
POSSIBLE SCHEMES WITH COMMON VOLTAGE ELIMINATING BY RULE 2

Fig. 13. Leakage current waveforms and spectrum, grid voltage, and current at L 1 + L 2 = 8 mH. (a) Source produced, C c o m = 0. (b) Conventional strategy,
C c o m = 0. (c) Advanced strategy, C c o m = 10 nF. (u g : grid voltage, 200 V/div; ig : grid current, 5 A/div, iL e a ka g e : common-mode current at point of common
coupling, 40 mA/div; time: 4 ms/div; M: spectrum of iL e a ka g e , 1.6 mA/div, 5 kHz/div; I2 0 k H z : leakage current component at switching frequency of PV
grid-connected inverter, I5 0 H z : leakage current component at grid frequency; and I1 8 k H z : leakage current component at switching frequency of PV simulator.)

TABLE IX As the condition Ccom > C1 becomes worse and worse, the ex-
PARAMETERS OF THREE-LEVEL NPC GRID-CONNECTED INVERTER
RATED 1 kW
pression vB = −vDM /2 may visualize little by little according
to (7). Thus, it can be seen that the experimental results and
trends are exactly the same as the theory analysis discussed ear-
lier. Accordingly, the accuracy of the developed model, and the
effectiveness and necessity of the full-offset solution are fully
illustrated.
2) Filter Branch Offset Solution Verification: C1 = C2 is
configured to compensate for the effects of the leg parasitic pa-
rameters on leakage current, based on the precondition L1 = L,
L2 = 0 in the filter branch offset solution. However, due to
the uncertainty and difficulty to accomplish accurate measure-
ment of the parasitic capacitance C1 , two large external capaci-
tors are added to approximately match the expression C2 = C1 .
Table XII gives four pairs of different capacitances to observe
912 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY, VOL. 52, NO. 4, NOVEMBER 2010
TABLE X
TEST DATA UNDER DIFFERENT STRAY CAPACITOR C 1 AND COMPENSATION CAPACITOR C c o m
TABLE XI
TEST DATA UNDER DIFFERENT SWITCHING FREQUENCY
TABLE XII
TEST DATA WITH C 1 = C 2
trends of the leakage current I20 kHz (in this experiment, the
trend of I20 kHz is focused). When the added capacitor is small,
the improvement of the leakage current suppression is limited.
Unfortunately, with the continuing increase of capacitance, the
leakage current rapidly increases, which is as same as the afore-
mentioned theoretical analysis. In addition, minimizing the leak-
age current can be achieved by trying different C1 and C2 with
a small value, and the leakage current trend of Tables X and XII
of revision manuscript verified the feasibility of this method.
But, this debugging process is hard due to the difference of cir-
cuit parameters and parasitical parameters in mass-produce. It
can be concluded that this method is only feasible theoretically,
while it is very difficult to achieve. In other words, the improved
effectiveness is not obvious in the actual circuit.
V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a full-scale leakage current analytical model of
transformerless PV grid-connected inverter and rules of elimi-
nating common-mode source at switching frequency have been
developed. The common-mode behavior of full-bridge-type in-
verter has been analyzed by using the developed model and
rules, and the rule 2 is invalid in full-bridge symmetric topol-
ogy. An improved full-bridge structure with clamping branch
has been proposed according to rule 1. In addition, the behavior
of half-bridge-type inverter has been also analyzed, and the rule
1 is useless in half-bridge asymmetric topology. A compensa-
tion strategy for three-level NPC inverter has been developed
and verified finally. The developed model and rules are useful
in the research on new inverter structures.
The application of the model represents to summarize two
rules for leakage current elimination, and then, the two rules
are demonstrated in full-bridge and half-bridge inverter, respec-
tively. So, the use of the model is indirectly demonstrated. The
choice of the switching pattern and matching of circuit param-
eters are just applications of the rules for practice topologies.
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913
Huafeng Xiao (S’10) was born in Hubei, China, in
1982. He received the B.S. and M.S. degree in elec-
trical engineering from Nanjing University of Aero-
nautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China, in 2004
and 2007, respectively, where he is currently work-
ing toward the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering.
His current research interests include high-
frequency soft-switching conversion, and photo-
voltaic applications.
Shaojun Xie (M’05) was born in Hubei, China, in
1968. He received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees
in electrical engineering from Nanjing University
of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), Nanjing,
China, in 1989, 1992, and 1995, respectively.
In 1992, he joined the Faculty of Electrical En-
gineering Teaching and Research Division, where he
is currently a Professor at the College of Automation
Engineering, NUAA. He has authored more than 50
technical papers in journals and conference proceed-
ings. His research interests include aviation electrical
power supply systems and power electronics conversion.