Power Quality Enhancement in Residential Smart Grids Through Power Factor Correction Stages

Abstract

The proliferation of nonlinear loads and the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources in medium-voltage (MV) and low-voltage (LV) distribution grids make it more difficult to maintain the power quality levels in residential electrical grids, especially in the case of weak grids. Most household appliances contain a conventional power factor corrector (PFC) rectifier, which maximizes the load power factor (PF) but does not contribute to the regulation of the voltage total harmonic distortion (THD <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</sub> ) in residential electrical grids. This paper proposes a modification for PFC controllers by adapting the operation mode depending on the measured THD <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</sub> . As a result, the PFCs operate either in a low current total harmonic distortion (THD <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">I</sub> ) mode or in the conventional resistor emulator mode and contribute to the regulation of the THD <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</sub> and the PF at the distribution feeders. To prove the concept, the modification is applied to a current sensorless nonlinear controller applied to a single-phase boost rectifier. Experimental results show its performance in a PFC front-end stage operating in the continuous conduction mode connected to the grid with different THD <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</sub> .