Lifetime Assessment of Photovoltaic Quasi-Impedance Source Inverter

The global energy landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift towards sustainability, necessitating a transition from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Among these, solar energy is one such source that makes use of photovoltaic (PV) systems that stand out as a promising avenue for sustainable energy generation due to their scalability, accessibility, and minimal environmental impact. The PV panels (DC source) along with an inverter are widely used to generate AC power. The Quasi-Z-Source Inverter (QZSI) is used for PV applications as it can step up the source voltage unlike the traditional voltage source inverters (VSI). The QZSI is preferred not only for its boosting ability, but also for its simpler design. With lesser number of passive components, the inverter has a higher efficiency. Apart from its design simplicity and efficiency, the reliability aspects of the converter play a vital role in terms of its applications. Lifetime prediction of the inverter is one of the key factors of its reliability analysis. Numerous techniques exist for forecasting a system's lifetime, and this paper outlines the reliability study of QZSI, namely using Part Stress Analysis and Fault Tree Analysis using ITEM ToolKit software.