Explanation of the Inverter and how it works

The Basics:

U (V) U (V)

+ +

0 0
t(s) t(s)

- -
AC input DC input

You should first be familiar with the difference between Alternating Current (AC)
and Direct Current (DC) to understand the workings of the inverter. With an AC
power supply the voltage switches between positive (+) and negative (-) in
cycles. With a DC power supply the voltage remains constant at a positive (+)
value. It is assumed that electricity flows from positive to negative in electrical
circuits.
The compressor motor of an air conditioner is traditionally driven by the mains
AC power supply which is supplied at either 50Hz or 60Hz depending on the
country. This is the frequency of the AC wave or number of cycles per second
(e.g. 50Hz = 50 cycles per second).

U (V) U (V)

+ +

1sec 1sec
0 0
t(s) t(s)

- -
f = 1Hz f = 2Hz
Variable Frequency
This frequency (or number of cycles) dictates the speed that the compressor
motor will rotate at, thus in a non-inverter type system the speed is fixed. The
inverter makes it possible to change the frequency of the AC supply to the
compressor motor thus changing the speed of the compressor to accurately meet
the cooling requirements. This is also energy efficient as when the compressor
operates at a lower speed less power is consumed.

How the Inverter works:

The Inverter as we refer to it actually consists of 2 parts, ¬ the rectifier circuit (or
converter) which changes AC to DC and - the inverter circuit which changes DC
back to AC with a variable frequency.

¬ The rectifier circuit

AC

DC
+
+
IN - OUT
-

AC

DC
+
IN -
- OUT
+
The rectifier circuit, through a system of diodes converts the negative (-) side of
the AC wave to positive (+), although this is still not a smooth DC output and still
contains peaks. To smooth out these peaks a capacitor is added to the circuit as
shown below.

CAPACITOR

U (V)

t(s)

This produces an output similar to a constant DC voltage signal represented by

the pink line in the above graph. Although the voltage has been smoothed out the
current (I) is still subject to peaks (or surges) which causes a certain amount of
inefficiency, this will be covered later under PAM technology.
Next this DC signal must be changed back to AC through the inverter circuit.

- The inverter circuit

The inverter circuit consists of transistors which are in fact a form of switch and to
aid understanding of this concept are shown as switches in the following
diagram. These switches can change their positions to produce a positive (+),
zero (0) or negative (-) output, thus simulating an AC wave.
 Input Output
U(V) U(V)

IN +
t(s) - t(s)

OUT
+ -

Input Output
U(V) U(V)

IN +
t(s) - t(s)

OUT

Input Output
U(V) U(V)

IN +
t(s) - t(s)

-
OUT
+
By varying the speed of the switching, the frequency of the AC output wave can
be modulated.

U (V) U (V)

t(s) t(s)

f (Hz)

This shows the basic operation of the inverter however a square AC wave such
as this would not be an effective method of driving the compressor motor and so
in actual practice very high grade transistors are used to provide Pulse Width
Modulation (PWM) which gives us a smooth sine wave.
VOLTAGE

single Pulse
pulse width CURRENT

It is important to note that Daikin Industries Ltd. uses a very high grade type of
transistor known as the Integrated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) this actually
modulates the width of each pulse to produce the smoothest possible wave.
Some other manufacturers use lower grade transistors which produce a uniform
pulse width which is not as efficient and can cause electrical interference to other
devices (including the compressor motor).
The complete circuit is shown below,

IN OUT

AC - DC Rectifier DC - AC Inverter
with Smoothing with P.W.M.

Below is a simplified flow diagram of the processes performed in the inverter

circuit.

AC 50 Hz R
E
C
V T
DC 50 Hz I
F
I
V E
Smooth DC R

V
I
AC Var. Hz N
V
I E
R
P.W.M. AC Var. Hz T
E
R