Date of Graduation
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Electrical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Yue Zhao
Abstract
With the global switch to renewable energy sources, photovoltaic energy has become an integral source to harvest from. When solar panels convert sunlight into a DC voltage, a grid-tied inverter is needed to transform this DC voltage into an AC voltage to interface with the AC grid. The most widely used topologies for grid-tied solar inverters are two-level three-phase inverters and three-level NPC three-phase inverters. Compared to two-level inverters, three-level NPC inverters have advantages such as lower EMI, lower THD, and lower switching losses. Moreover, three-level NPC inverters are shown to have higher efficiency in low-voltage applications at medium to high switching frequencies at all different power factors. A comparative analysis of each inverter with a 1500V DC-link is caried out using PLECS to simulate characteristics such as efficiency, switching losses, conduction losses, and THD.
Keywords
Inverter; Grid; Solar; Phase; Level
Citation
Sproles, S. (2026). Performance Comparison of a Two-Level and a Three-Level 1500V Three-Phase Grid-Tied Solar Inverter. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/elcsuht/36
