Influence of Power Converter Losses Evaluation in the Sizing of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System

An improvement to the precision of losses calculation in static converters used in a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) is presented in this article. The objective is to be able to evaluate energy losses in the system during the unit sizing process. The models developed in this paper consider the conduction and switching losses to take into account the variation of the converters efficiency together with the load variations. The proposed approach for the energy losses calculation is tested with an already sized HRES. The methodology is compared on an hour-by-hour basis with a constant efficiency rate approach using a specially developed simulation program. The importance of the correct energy losses evaluation is demonstrated.