Development of a Modular, Bi-Directional Power Inverter for Photovoltaic Applications: Final Report, August 1995 - March 1998

This research and development contract has resulted in several benefits for Trace Engineering and the PV industry that are directly attributable to the PVMaT program: 1) Application of the hardware-based protection circuit developed in Phase I was completed on Trace's existing DR and SW series product lines. This additional protection circuit was phased into full production starting in April of1997. This resulted in a substantial improvement in factory yields and a very significant reduction of field failures--a drop of as much as 80% on some product models; 2) Accelerated development and introduction of the Power Module enclosure/balance-of-systems package. This product is a big step toward the standardization of system and equipment design for Trace's customers; 3) Developed thecost-reduced 2.5-kW modular inverter based on the current SW series software and topology. This new inverter/charger uses many new construction and manufacturing methods to reduce cost by 40%, simplify production, decrease parts count by over 20%, reduce labor required by 30% , and increase the flexibility in the manufacturing process. It will enter production in the first quarter of 1999 as theTrace Engineering PS series inverter/charger.