Practical Eco-Electrical Home Power Electronics

This book is a sequel to "Your Own Eco-Electrical Home Power System" and goes deeper into the electronics of photovoltaic and thermal solar technologies, wind power conversion, inverter circuits, and loads such as electronic lighting. Power electronics circuit theory is presented while analyzing commercial circuits, including little-known converters and subtleties such as snubbers and leakage inductance. The book also offers in-depth coverage of power system strategizing for optimal efficiency and utility, including a 170 V DC bus, commercial solar charger design with detailed circuit explanations, wind generator electric machine electromechanical theory, wind converter design requirements and the series-L zero-current-switching converter and power supplies found inside loads connected to home power systems and their potential problems and consequences for inverters. A wealth of information is presented on engineering topics including: maximum-power charging and the boost push-pull low-to-high-voltage converter; three-state lead-acid battery charging; design equations and plots for series-L ZCS converters; fluorescent lighting and compact fluorescent inverter design and repair, with circuit diagrams for three commercial CFLs; and, LED lighting including portable LED lamp driver switching and linear circuits. Also included is a chapter on solar thermal technology - an alternative to solar PV, often found to be more economical than PV at the current state of thermal electric module development.