Analysis and comparison of islanding detection methods using a new load parameter space

Anti-islanding protection is a mandatory feature for grid-connected inverters. The effectiveness of passive islanding detection methods (IDMs) is usually demonstrated by means of non-detection zones (NDZs) represented in a power mismatch space (ΔP × ΔQ). A number of active type IDMs with improved performance have been presented but their effectiveness cannot be compared using the ΔP × ΔQ space. This paper proposes a new load parameter space for comparing the effectiveness of IDMs where the influence of the load resistance can be easily assessed. Equations that represent NDZs for the ΔP × ΔQ and proposed load parameter space are derived and verified by simulation.