Integration strategy for bidirectional and unidirectional converters aiming for zero power pollution in residential applications

The reactive power compensation performance of aggregated unidirectional power factor correction converters commonly found in household appliances is evaluated. Operating under supervisory command, these converters have the potential to serve as a low cost alternative to conventional reactive power compensation solutions by utilizing their available capacity for reactive power support in smartgrids and microgrids. It is demonstrated that unidirectional converters are able to support their load demand while simultaneously compensating reactive power demand elsewhere in the grid. However, as the generated reactive power increases, harmonic current content is introduced in the grid. In this case, locally available photovoltaic or vehicle-to-grid bidirectional converters capable of harmonic current compensation can serve as active power filters. A MATLAB/Simulink model is used to assess the feasibility and performance of the proposed strategy.