Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Smart Inverter Testing

This article presents the results of a series of laboratory experiments conducted to validate the performance and effectiveness of a solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter under different operating conditions and control modes. The experiments were conducted using a Power Hardware-In-the-loop (PHIL) facility, which consists of a power amplifier, an autotransformer, power quality meters, and a host computer running solar panel emulation software that drives a controllable DC supply. The experiments included testing the inverter's ability to maintain a constant power factor, deliver constant reactive power, regulate voltage using the voltage-var and voltage-watt modes, withstand voltage ride-through conditions, and return to service after a grid outage. The results show that the experimental facility is capable of performing tests that are intended to verify the industry requirements of PV inverters.