DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 1.

5kVA (1500VA)
SINEWAVE INVERTER SYSTEM

BY

EMMANUEL SUNDAY AKOJI

PGD/SEET/2018/8978

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

ENGINEERING,
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MINNA, NIGER
STATE.

SEPTEMBER, 2021
 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 1.5kVA PURE
SINEWAVE INVERTER SYSTEM (WIRELESS CONTROLLED)

BY

EMMANUEL SUNDAY AKOJI

PGD/SEET/2018/8978

APROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA OF
ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

ENGINEERING,
SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY(SEET),
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MINNA, NIGER ST
SEPTEMBER,2021.
 ABSTRACT
This project aims at design and implementation of 1.5kVA, 230V sine wave inverter system at
50HZ with wireless control capability, voltage stabilization circuit to ensure a steady output and
a control circuit monitoring the operation of the inverter using full-bridge switching topology
driven by the ATMEGA328P microcontroller and Sine Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM)
techniques to minimized total harmonics distortion (THD). The basic principle of operation is
the conversion of a 12V direct current (DC) from the battery using integrated circuits and
semiconductors to a 230V, 50HZ alternating current(AC) across the windings of a transformer.
The work is realized with the help of SG3524 integrated circuit as the Oscillator and NPN
transistors which drives the gate of the MOSFET H-Bridge. The output of the H-Bridge MOSFET
(12V AC) is stepped up to 230V AC by a step up power transformer, to power various electrical
loads. In order to achieve voltage stability over the operating battery voltage (12V-10V DC),
voltage feedback mechanism was employed. Since electrical appliances in Nigeria operates at
low frequency (50Hz), a low pass filter (RC-Filter circuit) was used to filter out the high
frequency (10kHz) generated by the microcontroller to achieve the 50Hz required by the load.
For wireless operation using Android phones, HC-06 Bluetooth module is incorporated, which is
used to communicate with a Bluetooth application on Android phone for turning ON or OFF the
inverter. The inverter system designed has maximum load capacity of 1.5kVA, automatic
switching between the inverter output and mains supply and displaying unit (16x2
alphanumeric liquid crystal display). Testing of the inverter system shows a stable output
frequency of 49.98Hz to 50.1Hz and output voltage of 219V to 225V AC over a load range of 0
to 1100W with 98% THD.
 CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
One of the most remarkable inventions men have ever made on this planet earth is electricity.

The attribute of electricity as the greatest invention of all times is its intrinsic importance in

socio-economic development and technological advancement (Owen ad Edward, 1996 cited in

Omotosho et al., 2017). When AC load are fed through inverters, the desired voltage output

magnitude and frequency could be attained in the effective way[3]. The importance of electricity

in an economy cannot be over emphasized, hence Obinelo (2019) posited that electricity is the

wheel that drives development in a society and thus is the line of many activities in the country.

Our economy is not viable and does not actively support the needs survival of small and

medium scale enterprises (SMEs) due to a lack of steady electricity supply. A lots of small and

medium scale enterprises (SMEs) have to provide their own source of electricity, especially

using fossil fuel-powered electricity generators, for the production and running of the business,

increasing the production cost and stiffing the company's profitability (Idowu, 2020). Hence, the

provision of constant electricity will go a long way in ameliorating Nigeria's SMEs challenges.

The inverter system is an effective alternative to providing constant electricity in Nigeria due to

electrical power issues.

An inverter is defined as an electrical unit that provides power conditioning and backup power

when mains supply fails. it could either be long enough for sensitive equipment to shut down

gracefully so that no data is lost, or long enough to sustain the sensitive loads operational until a

secondary AC source, like a generator, comes on. Because an inverter offers uninterruptible
power functionality, it is also called an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In an inverter

system, the energy is generally stored in flywheels, batteries, or supercapacitors. Compared to

other immediate power supply system, inverters have the advantage of immediate protection

against input power interruptions (Musa and Galadanci, 2019). Therefore, an inverter system can

be used as a protective device for some hardware which can cause severe damage or loss with a

sudden power disruption.

An inverter takes in input power from direct current (DC) sources such as the battery, usually at

a low level and inverts the DC input into an alternating current (AC) output which can be used to

power electrical and electronic equipment. Inverter systems vary in sizes, depending on the type

of electrical equipment that they can power. An inverter can be used to power a single computer

system, entire data centre, buildings or cities. In addition, When sensing normal power

fluctuations or interruptions, it may automatically activate backup systems to ensure that data is

not lost and the equipment is protected.

One of the challenges of using fossil fuel for electricity generators is that it leads to

environmental pollution and thus increases the rate of climate change and the overall depletion of

the ozone layer. Climate change and depletion of the ozone layer are a threat to human existence

on this planet as these lead to continuous increase environmental temperature of which if allowed

will reach a level that humans may not be able to survive (Omer, 2009). However, with

renewable energy sources such as the inverter system, the environment will be sustainable and

lives on earth will be protected from being destroyed by climate change and ozone layer

depletion. Furthermore, Justin (2020) indicated that other advantages of inverter systems over

conventional portable generators are quieter, more compact and lightweight, more fuel efficient,

safe for sensitive electrical devices and generally more environmentally friendly. In addition,
With the advance in technology and the commercialisation of solar panels based, inverter can

harness solar energy for electricity production for homes and industrial use.

Due to the importance of electricity for the sustainable economic development of any nation, the

issue of electric power in Nigeria and the advantages offered by inverter systems, the researcher

is motivated to design and construct an inverter system rated 1.5kVA. This inverter system can

be used to power electrical and electronic appliances with power demand less than the rated

power output of the inverter system.

The proposed inverter system generates AC power from 12V DC power sources such as battery

and solar photovoltaic systems. The AC waveform to be produced in the proposed design is a

pure sinewave. The system has control functions that monitors the load connected across the

battery, such that the system will shutdown on overload and short-circuit, protecting the inverter

from damage. The control unit also monitor the battery voltage such that once the battery is

drained to a low threshold, the unit will shut down. In addition, the inverter will be incorporated

a display unit that shows the status of the inverter such as battery voltage, runtime, power

consumption, battery voltage and fault diagnosis.

In addition to the above features, the inverter will be incorporated with a wireless control

mechanism using Bluetooth wireless technology; hence, the inverter can be controlled using a

Bluetooth enabled Android phone. Current inverters have battery polarity, and connecting the

battery to the wrong polarity, damages the inverter system; however, the proposed inverter will

overcome this limitation, such that the input battery will be non-polarised, hence, making the

inverter less susceptible to damage caused by wrong polarity connection of the battery to the

inverter.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

Erratic power supply is one factor that has perpetually maintained the status of Nigeria's less

development. Many households and businesses cannot be guaranteed 24 hours supply of

electricity from the public grid. At this stage of Nigeria’s social and economic development, the

country cannot deliver adequate energy to its citizens despite substantial financial resources that

have been expended in the sector.

Due to the epileptic electricity power supply situation in Nigerian, Nigerians have continued to

rely on electricity generators for their power supply with its numerous disadvantages of noise

pollution, high operational costs, and other imaginable consequences on their health of the

populace. Hence, a need to come up with an inverter system that can alternatively provide

electricity to the nation and caution the effect of electricity in Nigeria.

1.3 Aim And Objectives

This project aims to design and construct a pure sine wave inverter system rated at 1.5kVA using

a 12V DC battery source. The following objectives shall be used to achieve the aim of the work

i. 230V AC at the output of the inverter.

ii. Design a monitoring circuit to control the operation of the inverter using the

ATMEGA328P microcontroller.

iii. Design and incorporate the battery polarity protection circuit and a Bluetooth module

for the wireless control of the inverter using a Smartphone.

iv. Design and implement a sinewave inverter using full-bridge switching topology

driven by a microcontroller.

v. To evaluate the loading performance of the inverter

1.4 Methodology

The method applied in this project to achieve the stated objectives involves the use of
ATMEGA328 microcontroller for the entire control and protection, PWM IC, SG3524 as the
oscillator to convert the battery DC energy to an oscillating signal, two groups of MOSFETs
to drive the load current through the transformer and a step-up transformer to step up the
12V to 230V. The oscillator used was configured to produce sine wave. Four pairs of
MOSFET was used in each group to form an H-Bridge, which maintain the current carrying
capacity of the individual group of MOSFETs. The output of the oscillator drives the MOSFET
gate through cascaded pair of transistor while the MOSFET interfaces with the transformer
that provides the required 230V AC. The block diagram is presented in chapter 3.

1.5 Scope of the Study

This project covers the design and implementation of an inverter system rated at 1.5kVA. The

inverter system will be powered from a 12V battery. The output of the inverter system will be

220V AC at 50Hz frequency pure sinewave.

1.6 LIMITATION OF THE THESIS

There are many different Power Circuits’ topologies and control strategies used in inverter

designs. In addition, different methods address various issues that may be more or less important

based the needs of the inverter. The limitation of the project therefore includes:

i. The inverter draws much current from the battery during on-load conditions resulting in a

quick fall of the accumulator strength, and so can operate appliances with currents of

100A, 1500W and below.

 ii. Also, it cannot be used on three-phase machines, domestic appliances with voltages

above 240V and below 220V, and devices with 60Hz frequency.

iii. The inverter can only be used to power load within 1.5kVA capacity, beyond which, the

system will shut down on overload.

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction to Pure sine wave Inverters.

This chapter brings the basics of an inverter, its operation and design principles, and a literature

review. The inverter system was reviewed under the heading of the different types of inverter

systems; the square wave, modified sinewave and the pure sinewave inverters

2.2 Types of Inverter System

The electricity used to power appliances in homes, industries and offices is alternating in nature,

hence, the reason for calling it alternating current (AC.). The inverter system can also be

described based on the waveform generated from the battery (input power) using the wave

generation unit.Therefore, the wave generation unit changes the input voltage (battery) from

steady-state to alternating. Three waveforms are used to construct the inverter system; viz,

square wave, modified sine wave and pure sine wave. Therefore, the differentiation of inverter

system into modified sine wave inverter (suitable for resistive, capacitive, inductive loads can
produce noise), and pure sine wave inverter (for all types of loads because it produces a sine

wave equal to that of our domestic power supply).

2.2.1. Square Wave Inverter

A square wave inverter is among the simplest inverters, which convert a straight DC signal to a

phase-shifting AC signal. Nevertheless, the output is not pure AC, i.e., a pure sine wave, but a

square wave. At the same time, they are cheaper as well. The simplest construction of a square

wave. Similarly, they are cheap. the most straightforward construction of a square wave inverter

can be achieved by using an ON-OFF switch before a typical voltage amplifying circuitry like

that of a transformer

This type of inverter is the cheapest to make but the hardest to use. They flip the voltage from

positive to negative,creating a square waveform. Their efficiency is poor with much power in

higher harmonics that cannot be useful to many appliances such as inductive load. It is among of

the simplest waveforms an inverter design can produce and is suitable in low-sensitive

applications such as lighting and heating. Moreover, it can produce "humming" when connected

to audio equipment, and is generally unsuitable for electronics.

Figure 2.1: Square Wave Inverter Waveform

Even though the square wave is highly economical, it has some shortcomings such as:

i. High audio noise is noticeable when it is being used to operate an audio system.

ii. Incompatibility with certain communication gadgets such as fax machines, modems,

routers and other equipment which run on motors such as fun, printers, photocopiers

iii. Low surge power

Based on these facts, a new system like the modified sine wave built on the foundations

of the modified square wave is being introduced.

2.2.2. Modified Sine Wave Inverter

A modified sine wave inverter's waveform is similar to a sine wave. Most inexpensive

consumer power inverters produce a modified sine wave rather than a pure sine wave.

The waveform in commercially available modified-sine-wave inverters is a square wave

Many electrical equipment will operate quite well when powered by a modified sine wave

power inverter, especially loads that are resistive such as traditional incandescent light bulbs.

Figure 2.2: Modified Sine Wave Inverter Waveform

Modified Sine Wave (Modified Square Wave or Step Wave) inverters approximate a pure sine

waveform and are designed to satisfy the efficiency requirements of most devices while being

less expensive than pure sine waveform inverters. However, major disadvantage when using the

modified sine wave inverter is that peak voltages usually vary with the voltage of the battery's
voltage. Thus, although it is cheap, without power supply regulation, the modified sine waver

inverter can cause electronic devices to behave erratically because of power surges.

The use and waste of power is another disadvantage. Any equipment which is used to convert

power from direct current to alternating current loses power during the conversion process. This

means that if the inverter is 80 percent efficient, 20 percent of the power is lost during the

conversion process. For example, the power is lost in the form of heat. This leads to the inverter

not being able to convert power at an optimal level. The inverter also requires some power to run

it, and as the size of the modified sine inverter increases, so does its inefficiency.

2.2.3. Pure Sine Wave Inverter

A power inverter device that produces a multiple step sinusoidal AC waveform is called a sine

wave inverter. To more clearly distinguish the inverters with outputs of much less distortion than

the "modified sine wave" (three-steps) inverter designs, the manufacturers often use the phrase

pure sine wave inverter. Unfortunately, almost all consumer grade inverters that are sold as a

"pure sine wave inverter" do not produce a smooth sine wave output at all, just a less choppy

output than the square wave (two-steps) and modified sine wave (three-steps) inverters. In this

sense, the phrases "pure sine wave" or "sine wave inverter" are misleading to the consumer.

However, this is not critical for most electronics as they deal with the output quite well.

Sine wave inverters with more than three steps in the wave output are more complex and have a

significantly higher cost than a modified sine wave, with only three steps, or square wave (one-

step) types of the exact power handling. Switch-mode power supply (SMPS) devices, such as

personal computers or DVD players, function on quality modified sine wave power. AC motors
directly operated on non-sinusoidal power may produce extra heat, have different speed-torque

characteristics, or produce more audible noise than when running on sinusoidal power.

Figure 2.3: Pure Sine Wave Inverter Waveform

Overall, pure sine wave inverters are preferred over modified sine wave inverters when it comes

to powering sensitive devices like microwave ovens, game consoles, laser printers, compressors,

and more on the go. That is because the output voltage from pure sinewave inverter is a perfect

replica of power utility-supplied energy (has incredibly low harmonic distortion).

The major disadvantages of pure sinewave inverters are the high cost of the inverter system and

the complexity of the system compared to modified sinewave or square wave inverters

2.3 Basic Principle of Working of Inverter System

The conversion of the DC into AC current is based on the phenomenon of electromagnetic

induction. Electromagnetic induction is the generation of electric potential difference in a

conductor when exposed to a varying magnetic field. For example, if placed in a coil (spool of

wire) near a rotating magnet, electric current will be induced in the coil (Figure 2.4).
 Figure 2.4: Schematic illustration of electromagnetic induction

If we consider a system with two coils (Figure 2.5) and pass DC through one of them (primary

coil), that coil with DC current can act analogously to the magnet (since electric current produces

magnetic field). If the current direction is reversed frequently (e.g., via a switching device), the

alternating magnetic field will induce AC in the secondary coil.

Figure 2.5. Inverter cycles.

During the 1st half cycle (top), DC from a DC source - solar module or battery - is switched on

through the top part of the primary coil. During the 2nd half cycle (bottom), the DC is switched

on through the bottom part of the coil. The simple two-cycle scheme shown in Figure 2.5

produces a square wave AC signal. This is the simplest case, and if the inverter performs only

this step, it is a square-wave inverter. However, this type of output is not very efficient and can
be even detrimental to some loads. So, the square wave can be modified further using more

sophisticated inverters to produce a modified square wave or sine wave (Dunlop, 2010).

Low frequency waveform control can be used in the inverter to produce a modified square wave

output. This feature allows adjusting the duration of the alternating square pulses. Also,

transformers are used here to vary the output voltage. The combination of pulses of different

lengths and different voltage levels in multi-stepped modified square waves, closely matches the

sine wave shape. The low frequency inverters typically operate at ~60 Hz frequency. High-

frequency inverters are used to produced a sine wave output. These inverters use the pulse-width

modification method: switching currents at high frequency and for variable periods. For

example, very narrow (short) pulses simulate a low voltage situation, and wide (long pulses)

simulate high voltage. Also, this method allows spacing the pulses to be varied: spacing narrow

pulses farther apart models low voltage (Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6. Pulse-width modulation to approximate the true sine wave by high-frequency

inverter.

In the image above, the blue line shows the square wave varied by the length of the pulse and

timing between pulses; the red curve shows how a sine wave models those alternating signals.

Using very high frequency helps create gradual changes in pulse width and thus models an
actual sine signal. In addition, the pulse-width modulation method and novel digital controllers

have resulted in very efficient inverters (Dunlop, 2010).

2.4 Basic Components in the Inverter System

In designing inverters, some components are required. These components makes the function of

the inverter possible. Some of the basic components used in the design of the inverter system are:

i SG3524 PWM

ii NE555 Timer IC

iii LM324 Comparator IC

iv Transistor

v MOSFET

vi Transformers

vii Relay Switch

viii Bridge Rectifier

ix Capacitors

x Diode, Light-Emitting Diode (LED)

xi Resistors

xii Fuse

xiii Junction Diodes

xiv Zener Diodes

xv 12V DC Fan
2.5 Review of Related Literatures

Omotosho et al. (2017) Designed and constructed a pure sinewave inverter using SG3535

PWM IC and TL084 quad opamp sine wave oscillator. The design consisted of two stages,

i.e. the DC-DC step upstage and a DC-AC Inverter stage. The DC-DC step up conversion

is based on a push-pull design to step 24VDC to 300VDC. Pulse width modulation was

used, i.e. the SG3525 pulse width Modulator. The DC-AC inverter stage comprised of four

power MOSFETs in an H-bridge configuration, driven by a 40 kHz square wave

encoded/modulated by a 50Hz sine wave derived from a TL084 quad opamp sine wave

oscillator. An output voltage range of about 240-260VAC from 300VDC input was

obtained. A low pass filter was used to filter out the high frequencies and thus isolate the

harmonics, so a 50 Hz fundamental frequency was retained.

However, the result obtained from the output of the inverter shows distortion in the sinewave

generated from the inverter at no load. With an increase in load, the distortion will be high, thus,

making the output of the inverter anything but not pure sinewave. This is shown in Figure 2.7
 Figure 2.7: Output of Omotosho et al. (2017) Pure Sinewave Inverter

In 2018, Abdelkader et al., designed and constructed an inverter system for a photovoltaic

system using TL494 PWM IC to step the 12V to 310V DC and PIC16F877A microcontroller for

the generation and control of PWM for the inverter system. The first stage of the conversion is a

fly back type chopper (buck-boost) powered by a photovoltaic panel using the TL494, which

generates us a PWM signal for the control of the two transistors used, which allowed us to have a

voltage of 311V adjustable with a control loop that holds the constant tension whatever the

influences of temperature and sunshine. This chopper feeds the second stage, a DC / AC

converter in MOSFET Transistor Bridge, each arm of the inverter is controlled by a power driver

type IR2110 which transmits the microcontroller PWM control (16F877A) to the MOSFET. The

latter provides a quasi-sinusoidal signal with a voltage of 220 V and a frequency of 50 Hz usable

in everyday life.

The results obtained from the inverter system by Abdelkader et al. (2018) shows distortion in

the output waveform when driving an inductive load; hence, the inverter is not suitable for

driving inductive load such as a fan. The output waveform is shown in Figure 2.8
 Figure 2.8: Output Waveform of Abdelkader et al. (2018) Inverter System

Oyeleye and Ayoola (2020) designed a modified sinewave inverter system based on SG3524

PWM IC. The inverter designed had five major blocks: the battery, oscillator unit, the charging

unit, the driver unit, and output unit. The SG3524 PWM IC drivers MOSFETs IRFP260N

connected in half-bridge mode through 4 ohms resistors. The result obtained from the inverter

shows that the inverter efficiency and output voltage decrease with an increased in the inverter's

loading. For example, at 200W, the efficiency and output voltages are 95.4% and 229V AC

respectively. However, at a load of 1200W, the efficiency had decreased to 75.8% and output

voltage to 182V AC. The output voltage output and efficiency against load power of Oyeleye

and Ayoola (2020) modified sinewave inverter is shown in Figure 2.9

Figure 2.9: Output Voltage Output and Efficiency Against Load Power
(Oyeleye and Ayoola, 2020)

Akintunde (2020) carried out the design of a 625va Pulse Width Modulated Inverter. The design

was implemented using five blocks of PWM controller, driver, an output circuit, charger and

battery. DC energy from the battery is converted to AC energy of a specified frequency at the
PWM controller unit, and it serves as an electronic source of alternating current or voltage

having sine, square, sawtooth or pulse width. This particular design is a Pulse Width Modulated

(PWM), MOSFET based Inverter. The required 50Hz signal is generated by the PWM controller

IC (SG3524). The alternating pulse output from IC is fed to the MOSFET banks. The MOSFETs

switch the DC voltage at the primary of the centre-tapped transformer, serving as the step-up

transformer to create the alternating voltage effect and flux change needed for transformation by

the transformer. The transformer then would step up the now converted 12V DC to 220V AC.

The output voltage of the inverter was filtered by a 2.2μF/400V capacitor connected across the

output terminals to remove the unwanted harmonics to get as smooth as possible sine waveform

output voltage.

2.6 Knowledge Gap

The knowledge gap and the area of improvement that this inverter will make include:

i. Voltage Regulation: Most inverters output voltage regulations are poor, making the

output of the inverter to vary with the load connected at the inverter output and battery

voltage. However, the current inverter will ensure constant output voltage irrespective of

the load and battery voltage with an appropriate feedback mechanism.

ii. Protection Mechanism: The inverters reviewed lack appropriate protection mechanisms

for overload, short-circuit, overvoltage and under-voltage from the mains AC supply.

However, the present inverter will use a microcontroller to ensure appropriate protection

and load.

iii. Output Waveform Distortion: In the inverters reviewed, the output voltage had

distortions, making them practically not pure sinewave output. However, with an
 appropriate carrier frequency filtering circuit, the present inverter will have pure

sinewave output.

iv. Wireless/Remote Control Capability: Traditionally, the inverter system can be

controlled (basically powered ON and OFF) from the switch attached to the body of the

inverter. However, with the advancement in technology and the availability of

Smartphone, the system will incorporate a wireless means of controlling the device.

Therefore, a Bluetooth module will be incorporated into the system, which can be

connected to any android phone and then used to control the operation of the inverter

system. Using Bluetooth, the system can be turned ON and OFF, the battery low voltage

cut off point can be adjusted, the maximum load capacity of the inverter can be adjusted,

and the power button on the inverter casing can be enabled or disabled. Hence, the user

can control the inverter and prevent excessive usage if in a public environment.
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 MATERIAS AND METHOD

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter discusses the choice of component for each of the circuit units of the

designed 1.5kVA pure sine wave inverter. The detailed design analysis of each unit and

how the components were selected and incorporated into the unit. The functional block

diagram that represents the stages of the 1.5kVA inverter is as shown in Figure 3.1.

Display Unit

Control Bluetooth
12V Battery Circuit
Circuit

Oscillator H-Bridge
Circuit Circuit

Transformer
Circuit

Feedback Filter Circuit

Circuit

AC Sense Changeover
Circuit Circuit

Inverter
AC Mains IN
Output

Figure 3.0: Block Diagram of Proposed 1.5kVA Inverter System

The block diagram comprises the oscillator stage which is responsible for generating the sine

wave, the MOSFET driver for driving the required current through the transformer, relay unit for

switching between the inverter output and mains supply. The charge controller that controls the

charging rate from the mains supply to the battery bank, the control unit made of automatic

voltage regulation (AVR) microcontroller to perform monitoring and control operation. The

display unit which displays information of the activities, the temperature sensors that monitor the

temperature of the MOSFETs and the power transformer incase of fault and the filter circuit for

eliminating unwanted frequencies . In what follows, the design calculation and specification

leading to the final circuit are presented.

3.2 Design Specifications

The proposed inverter herewith was designed based on the following specifications: It has an

output power capacity of 1.5kVA, with a pure sine wave output. The sine wave operates at a

frequency of 50Hz, which is the requirement for AC appliances in Nigeria. The output voltage is

at 220V AC, while the oscillation approach uses the pulse width modulation (PWM) technique.

Generally, the capacity of a power inverter is a function of the type and number of power

MOSFETS used as well as the size and capacity of the power transformer.

3.3 The battery

The battery is the source of energy to the inverter. The inverter uses the energy stored in the 12V

DC battery to give an AC output of 230V. The battery can be replaced with other DC sources

such as solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, producing DC voltage when exposed to the sun. If the

energy produced by the solar PV cells are enough, the inverter will inverter the DC into AC and

give output.
 Figure 3.1: Deep Cell Battery

The battery suitable for inverter system is a deep cell battery. This is because a deep-cycle

battery is designed to be regularly deeply discharged using most of its capacity. Therefore, it can

provide longer energy sources for the battery while lasting longer on usage.

3.4 The Control Circuit

The control circuit is responsible for controlling the entire activities of the inverter system. For

example, it controls the operation of the inverter, such as the turning ON and OFF of the system,

it monitors the output load power of the system, the battery voltage level and communicates with

the user through Bluetooth to perform different functions. The control circuit is made using an

ATMEGA328P microcontroller and ACS758 current sensors.

ATMEGA328P has 1KB Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM).

This property shows that if the electric supply supplied to the micro-controller is removed; it can

store the data and provide results after providing it with the electric supply. Moreover,

ATmega328 has 2KB Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM). ATmega328 has several

different features which make it the most popular device in today’s market. These features

include advanced RISC architecture, good performance, low power consumption, a real timer
counter with a separate oscillator, 6 PWM pins, programmable Serial USART, a programming

lock for software security, and throughput up to 20 MIPS etc. ATmega328 is mainly using in

Arduino. Further details about ATmega328 will be given later in this section.

Fig 3.2: ATMEGA328P pinout

ATMEGA328P is an eight (8) bit Microcontroller. It can handle data sized up to eight (8) bits. It

is used to build an AVR-based microcontroller with a built-in internal memory around 32KB,

with operating voltages of 3.3V to 5V. It can store the data even when the electrical supply is

removed from its biasing terminals. Its excellent features include cost efficiency, low power

dissipation, programming lock for security purposes, real timer counter with a separate oscillator.

3.4.1 Load Power Sensing and Calculation

power is a function of current and voltage; hence, there is a need to measure the current been

drawn by the load. Therefore, the current measurement uses ACS758ECB-200B-PFF-T for current

sensing and measurement and a voltage divider network for voltage sensing and measurement. The choice

of this current sensor was informed from the calculation.

P=VA cos ∅ 3.1

Where P is the real power drawn by the load, VA is apparent while cos ∅ is the power factor, and it is

chosen to be 0.8, giving the inverter 80% efficiency.

 P=1500 × 0.8=1200 W

Figure 3.2: Current Sensor IC

The maximum current drawn by the maximum load is given as

P=IV 3.2

Where I is the current and V is the battery voltage (12V). Therefore, the current drawn can be

calculated as

p 1200
I= = =100 A
V 12

The current sensor of twice the capability was chosen; hence, ACS758ECB-200B-PFF-T with the

capability of measuring 200A was chosen.

ACS758ECB-200B-PFF-T has a sensitivity of 10mV per Amp; thus, the current drawn by the load was

calculated using the line of code below

analogRead ( 1 ) × 5
LoadCurrent= =analogRead ( 1 ) × 0.4887585532746823
0.01× 1023

The load power (LP) is calculated thus

 LoadPower =BatteryVolt × LoadCurrent (W )

Figure 3.3: Current Sensing Circuit

3.4.2 Battery Level Measurement and Control

The battery level sensing was determined using parallel-connected resistors, as shown in Figure

3.2. The resistors R1 and R2 are used to sample the battery voltage to the voltage level of the

microcontroller.
 Figure 3.4: Battery Voltage Sensing

Resistors R1 and R2 are chosen such that the maximum battery input does not give a voltage drop

of more than 5Vat the microcontroller pin. Giving room for tolerance, 16V was chosen as the

maximum input voltage for the inverter and resistor R2 was chosen to be 10kΩ; hence, using

Equation (4.1), the value of R1 was calculated.

R2
V out = × V ¿(max) 3.3
R1 + R2

Where Vout is the maximum voltage on the microcontroller pin (5V) and Vin(max) is the maximum

input voltage (16V). Substituting and R1 and R2 are voltage divider resistors with R2 chosen to be

10kΩ.

10× 103 160000

5= 3
×16= 3
10 ×10 + R 1 10 ×10 + R 1

5 R1=16000−50000=110000
 110000
R1= =22000 Ω=22kΩ
5

For the microcontroller to calculate the voltage, the map function was used which line of code is

written as

BatteryVolt = map(analogRead(0), 0, 1023,0,16); below

3.4.3 AC Main Supply Sensing and Changeover

The AC mains source sensing and changeover circuit are responsible for informing the

microcontroller (ATMEGA328) of the presence of AC mains supply, and then changeover

circuit is used to switch the load connected at the output of the inverter from the inverter to

mains AC supply when there is mains power supply and back to the inverter when the mains

power supply goes off. The AC sensor circuit was designed with a step-down transformer,

rectifier unit, filter unit and voltage clamping, while the changeover unit was designed using

relay and transistor configured in common emitter mode.

Since the voltage from the transformer is for signal sensing only, a transformer with a turn ratio

of 1:36 whose amperage delivery is up to 200mA was selected. The transformer is shown in Fig

3.5 below

Fig 3.5: 240V to 6V Step-down Transformer

The 6V AC output from the transformer was rectified using a full-bridge rectifier. The circuit

was designed as follows

The maximum primary voltage ( Vpm )=❑√ 2 X 240−−−−( 3.4 )

Vpm=339.41V

The maximum secondary voltage ( Vsm )=K X Vpm−−−(3,5)

1
Where K istransformation ration= =0.02778−−−−( 3.6 )
36

∴ Vsm=0.02778 X 339.41

Vsm=9.43 V

Vrms=0.707 X Vmax −−−−−−−−−(3.7)

Vrms=0.707 X 9.43

Vrms=6.67 V

The peak inverse voltage (PIV) for each diode = Vrms. Therefore, IN4001 which has a PIV of

75V, was chosen for the rectification. The circuit is shown in Fig 3.6 below
 Fig 3.6: Rectified Power Supply

Output from an electronic rectifier circuit is technically direct current because all the current

flows in the same direction; however, the pulsating output of the rectifiers has an average DC

value and an AC portion called ripple voltage. At this point, filtering comes in. The filtering

circuit of a power supply smoothes out the ripples in the rectified DC to produce a direct current

without a ripple. Capacitors are used to smooth (filter) the pulsating DC output after rectification.

In the filter circuit, the capacitor is charged to the peak of the input voltage during the positive

half cycle. When the input goes negative, the capacitor begins to discharge into the load,

removing the ripple to produce a pure DC output.

The capacitance value needed in the power supply depended on the current (I), frequency (f) and

ripple voltage (Vr) and was determined thus:

I
C= −−−−−−−−−−−−−( 3.8 )
2 X f X Vr

C = capacitance value

I = required output current from power supply circuit (A)

f = frequency of the ac mains supply voltage (Hz)

V r =γ X V s √ 2−−−−−−−−−−−−( 3.9 )

Vr = ripple voltage

γ = ripple factor

For a full wave bridge rectification, the ripple factor (γ) = 0.44

V r =γ X V s ❑√ 2=0.44 X 6.67 X ❑√ 2

V r =4.15 V

From the transformer rating

I = 0.2A

f = 50Hz

I 0.2
C= =
0.2 X f X V r 0.2 X 50 X 6.67

0.2
C= =0.0029985 F=2998.5 X 10−6 F
66.7

C=2998.5 μF

A standard value or 3300µF was selected

 Fig. 3.7: Power Supply with Filter Capacitor

The output of the AC Mains sensor circuit was clamped to 5V using a 5V 2W Zener diode. The

Zener current was calculated as

Power 2
Zener current= = =0.4 A
Zener Voltage 5

The series resistor was calculated as

Supply Voltage−Zener Voltage 6.67−5

Resistor= = =4.175 Ω
Zener Current 0.4

A standard of 10Ω resistor was selected

The changeover section was made using two transistors connected in common emitter mode to

switch ON or OFF the relay to changeover between the inverter output and AC mains supply.

The base of the transistors IS directly connected to the microcontroller output pins (the emitters

are grounded, while the collector is connected to the components (relays) that they control.

The transistor used was BC547BP and was configured in the common emitter mode, and its base

resistor can be calculated thus:

V BB−V BE
I B= −−−−−−−−−−(3.10)
RB

I C =β X I B −−−−−−−−−−−−−(3.11)

IC
I B= −−−−−−−−−−(3.12)
β

I C V BB −V BE
= −−−−−−−−−−(3.13)
β RB
 β { V BB−V BE }
R B= −−−−−−−−−−(3.14)
IC

I C =100 mA

β=100

V BB=12V

V BE=0.7

100 {12−0.7 } 1130

R B= = =11,300
100∗10−3 0.1

R B=11,300 KΩ

A standard value of 10k was used for the base resistor of each transistor.

The relay chosen for this unit is a 12V 20A relay that can handle the maximum load of 1.5Kva

(1200w). The circuit arrangement of the relay and the transistor is shown in Figure 3.8.
 3.5 Oscillator Circuit

The oscillator unit is responsible for generating sine waves using the sine pulse width

modulation (SPWM) technique. Microcontroller, PIC18F26k42 will be used for the generation

of the sine wave for the inverter. The carrier frequency of the sinewave will be 25kHz, while the

fundamental frequency is 50Hz.

Figure 3.8: PIC18F26k42 Microcontroller

The duty cycle of the oscillator is controlled by the feedback from the transformer unit, thus

maintaining the output voltage of the inverter system.

3.6 H-bridge

This electronic device consists of four switching elements that allow voltage to be applied

across a load in either direction. N-Channel MOSFET were chosen as switches in this design to

minimise power loss and utilise higher switching speed. For level translation between PWM

signals and voltages required to forward bias high side N-Channel MOSFETs, the IR2110

MOSFET driver integrated circuit was chosen. A diagram of the H-Bridge circuit with MOSFET

and drivers is shown in Figure 4.1.

Figure: 3.9: MOSFET H-bridge with drivers

3.6.1 Design Analysis for the H-Bridge

The H-Bridge MOSFET circuit is used to reverse the generated sine waverss polarity to

produce a replica of the alternating current from the public power supply. In designing the H-
Bridge circuit, the inverterss power and the voltage system are used. The real power of the

inverter is calculated thus:

Active Power ( ¿Watt ) =Reactive Power (¿ VA ) × power factor (cos ∅)

The rating of the inverter is 1500VA, and its power factor for is 0.8; hence, the active power

of the system is given as:

Active Power=1500∗0.8=1200W

The maximum current to flow through the MOSFET is given as

Power 1200
Current= = =100 A
Voltage 12

The power dissipated while carrying a load of 100A by the switch is a function of the drain-to-

source resistance and can be calculated as:

2
Power dissipation=Current × Resistance

IRF3205 has a drain to source resistance (RDS) of 8mΩ. Targeting maximum power dissipation

of 20W on the MOSFET, the effective resistance will be

20
Resistance= 2
=0.002 Ω=2 mΩ
100

Let the number of MOSFETs to give effective resistance (RE) of 2mΩ to be n, hence

1
RE
=n( )
1
RDS
 R DS 8
∴ n= = =4 MOSFETs
RE 2

Hence, for each arm of the full-bridge network, four MOSFETs were paralleled to provide the

desired power for the inverter.

3.7 Design Analysis for the Sine Wave Generation

The fundamental thing to consider in generating pure sine wave using microcontroller is the

carrier frequency, the maximum duty cycle and the fundamental frequency. The carrier

frequency used for this sine pulse width modulation is 16MHz; this is because the

microcontroller is used to operate at maximum of 20kHz, and the fundamental frequency is

50Hz, the frequency of the AC supply.

The number of switching to generate the fundamental frequency from the carrier frequency is

calculated, thus

carrier frequency 16000

number of switching= = =320
fundcamental frequency 50

This number or the full wave, thus for the half wave, the number halved is one hundred and

sixty (160). Because of the memory size of microcontrollers, the number of switching is divided

by four; hence, one number is switched four times before proceeding to the next; hence, a total of

forty (40) sine wave switching is generated. The sequence of generating is the sine wave is given

below

Sine wave number=sin ( switcing180number

°
×Step number ) ×maximum Duty cycle
The duty cycle ranges from 0 to 100%; hence, the maximum duty cycle is 100, while the step

number is the sequence of numbers from 1 to 40.

Sine wave number 1=sin ( 18040° × 1) ×100=¿ 7.84 ≈ 8 ¿

Sine wave number 2=sin ( 18040° × 2) ×100=¿ 15.64 ≈ 16 ¿
Sine wave number 3=sin ( 180°
40
× 3 ) × 100=¿ 23 ≈ 23 ¿

Sine wave number 40=sin ( 18040° × 40)×100=¿ 0 ¿

The generated numbers are then tabulated or written in an array for the microcontroller to access

it as shown below:

SineTable = {8, 16, 23, 31, 38, 45, 52, 59, 65, 71, 76, 81, 85, 89, 92, 95, 97, 99, 100, 100, 100,

99, 97, 95, 92, 89, 85, 81, 76, 71, 65, 59, 52, 45, 38, 31, 23, 16, 8, 0}

3.8 Design Analysis for Transformer Unit.

The transformer is used to step the generated 12V AC from the full-bridge network to 220V AC

to electrical power gargets. Hence, the transformer used is a step-up transformer. The turn ratio

of the transformer is calculated thus:

Primary turn(N 1 ) Primary Voltage (V 1)

=
Secondary turn( N 2) Secondary Voltage (V 2)
The primary and secondary voltages are 12V and 220V, respectively, while the secondary turn

was chosen to be 110 turn; hence the primary winding becomes

12× 110
N 1= 6 turns
220

The maximum current on the secondary side is given as

3.9 Design Analysis for a Feedback and Filter Circuit

A Low Pass Filter was used to filter out the high frequency generated by the

microcontroller(16MHz)and allow only 50Hz to pass . A Low Pass Filter is a circuit designed to

modify, reshape or reject all unwanted high frequencies of an electrical signal and accept or pass

only those signals wanted by the circuit’s designer. The low pass filter is used for the resistor-

capacitor filter circuit. The formula to calculate the required resistor and capacitor for the low

pass filter is given as

1
F=
2 πRC

The desired frequency (F) is 50Hz, a resistor (R) of 1500Ω was chosen; hence, the value of the

capacitor (C) is calculated as

1
C= =2.12 ×10−6 =2.12 μF
22
2× × 1500× 50
7

A commercially available 2.2 μF was used for the work

Power 1200
Max . Sec .Current = = =5.45 A
Voltage 220
The wire gauge selected for the secondary to be able to carry much current was 14 (1.6mm

copper cable)

For the primary winding,

Power 1200
Max . Pri .Current = = =100 A
Voltage 12

The wire gauge selected for the secondary to be able to carry much current was 1 (7.3mm

copper cable).

3.10 The Bluetooth Unit

The wireless transmission unit of this system will be designed using an HC-05 Bluetooth

module. This unit will be designed to transmit serial wireless connections. This unit gives the

system the capability to transmit data to the Android mobile phone of the user, giving the system

the capability to be used as a smart energy meter as the load current, voltage and power

consumption are send to the user. With that data available to the user, the energy consumption

can be managed to suit the users’ requirements. The picture of the HC-05 Bluetooth module to

be used in this proposed design is shown in Figure 3.9.

 Figure 3.9: Bluetooth Module HC-05

3.8 Display Unit

The display unit is made using 16 x2 alphanumerical liquid crystal display (LCD). A 16x2

LCD indicates that it can display 16 characters per line, and there are two such lines

Fig 3.10: 16 X 2 Alphanumeric LCD

Figure: 3.11 Complete Circuit Diagram of 1.5kVA pure sin wave system

CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Construction and Testing
The realization of this project involved theoretical (Project design and component selection) and

practical (Implementation and coupling) exercise of converting the designed circuit diagram on

the paper into a real, workable electrical device. The modular methods of construction were

introduced to verifying the workability of each stage of the design on breadboard, which is the

temporary circuit connection and to be able to determine the stage(s) that required some

amendment.
The final construction was implements on a PCB board. All the electronic components involved

were carefully selected and studied, connected together under the guide of the circuit diagram

and datasheet that provides detailed information on the connection of each component. The

design analysis of the whole circuit diagram in previous chapter was of great benefit in the

construction, because it predicted the expected output of each stage, though with little variation.

Each unit circuit was executed one after the other. After which all the units were joined together

as a single working hardware.

4.1.1Test and Result on Output Stability

The system was loaded from 0% to 90% (1100W) of the load capacity, and the Table 4.1 was the

result obtained.

Table 4.1: Stability Test Result

S/No Load (Watt) Output Voltage(V) Frequency(Hz)

1 0 224.5 50.01

2 100 223.92 50.01

3 200 223.15 49.98

4 400 223.10 49.99

5 600 222.9 49.98

6 800 220.15 49.98

7 1000 219.5 49.97

8 1100 219.4 49.97

The above result shows that the inverter output voltage and frequency were stabile over the

range of load used for the testing.

4.1.2 Test and results on battery duration under load condition

With battery power rating of 12volts, 150Amp/hr for the testing, table 4.2 gives the results when

the system was loaded with different ratings of load.

Table 4.2 results on battery duration with respect to loads

S/N Load (Watt) Discharge

Time(Hours)

1 100 18

2 300 6

3 1000 1.8

4.1.3 Inverter Waveform Output

The output of the inverter was feed to an oscilloscope to obtain the waveform; the waveform

obtained as shown in Figure 4.8 indicates that the output waveform of the inverter is pure

sinewave and the percentage total harmonic distortion (THD) is minimal

 Figure 4.4: Sinewave output of the Inverter

4.1.3 Wireless Inverter Control

The Bluetooth module in the inverter system was attached to offer wireless control of the

inverter system. An android APP (Bluetooth Switch) was installed on an android phone. After

entering the default password(1234), a connection was established between the inverter and the

android phone. The app was configured with only one switch to be used to power the inverter

ON and OFF. When the inverter is powered ON, the switch light changes to red and white when

in the OFF state as shown in Figure 4.9.

 (i) Inverter ON

(ii) Inverter OFF

Figure 4.5: Android Control Application for the inverter

4.2 System Control

The System monitors the battery voltage and shutdown when the battery voltage reached 10V.

This was tested and the result obtained is shown in Figure 4.6

Figure4.6: Display to show controlled feature