Performance Enhancement of Single-Ended Primary-Inductor Converter for Low Power and Photovoltaic Applications

The ever-growing reliance on electronic devices and the burgeoning field of green energy necessitate efficient and different gain AC-DC converters for a myriad of applications, from electric drives to solar cells and grid-connected inverters. This paper introduces a hybrid closed-loop bridged and bridgeless Single-Ended Primary-Inductor Converter (SEPIC) topologies featuring switched-capacitor networks, showcasing promising improvements in Power Factor Correction (PFC), Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and efficiency when compared to contemporary converters. Both topologies demonstrate a 0.996 input power factor, surpassing their open-loop counterparts and PID-controlled closed-loop Cuk topology. Utilizing a dual-loop Proportional-Integral (PI) controller with a feedforward scheme minimizes distortion, yielding the lowest THD value of 7.96%. The single-stage network achieves 99.1% peak efficacy, outperforming closed-loop Cuk and SEPIC-Cuk combination configurations. Furthermore, the proposed topology’s performance is validated in the context of solar plant implementation, demonstrating a smooth 5V output with minimal ripple. This research underscores the potential for significant advancements in designing efficient renewable energy systems, particularly in Photovoltaic (PV) and wind applications.