27-Level DC–AC inverter with single energy source

A novel design of multilevel DC–AC inverter using only single renewable energy source is presented in this paper. The proposed approach enables multilevel output to be realised by a few cascaded H-bridges and a single energy source. As an illustration, a 27-level inverter has been implemented based on three cascaded H-bridges with a single energy source and two capacitors. Using the proposed novel switching strategy, 27 levels can be realized and the two virtual energy sources can be well regulated. Experimental results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed inverter.

► This paper reports a novel 27-level DC–AC inverter using only single renewable energy source.
► The efficiency of the inverter is very high. The output waveform is almost sinusoidal.
► The cost is low as the number of power switches required is only 12.