Small-Size, Low-Weight, Single-Phase Inverter for Domestic Applications

Rapid technological development in processor-controlled power electronics enables the employment of small transformers in their design, which leads to construction of lighter, smaller and, consequently, cheaper devices that are convenient to transport and store. The objective of this paper is to design a small, light, 12VDC to 240VAC, 50 Hz, ~500W inverter with a distortion factor of less than 2. This is performed with an efficient electronic circuit that forwards power through a high-frequency transformer. As a favorable output FFT spectrum is of major importance to the design of an inverter, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) for the single-level unipolar inverter on the high voltage side, as well as conventional filtering techniques are employed. The design's performance is simulated in Matlab and its functional parameters are assessed with the overall prospect of building a prototype inverter at a later stage. The analysis presented herein reveals a 430W-capable inverter with dimensions 12×10×8cm, mass of 0.6Kg and total distortion factor of 1.4%, thus indicating fair prospects for the construction of such an inverter in the following months.