Energy efficient solar CFL lighting system using MOSFET based high frequency inverter for remote areas

The use of Compact Fluorescent Lamp increases for photovoltaic lighting systems due to their high luminous efficacy and ability to provide adequate lumen output for a given lighting application. The luminous efficacy increases with switching frequency while providing eye comfort to user. The low electrical consumption makes the CFL an ideal choice for solar photovoltaic power system for lighting application. However, the CFL´s electrical requirements are not easily met by hard-switched inverters due to their higher switching losses at higher frequencies. The difficulty in meeting the complex electrical requirements such as preheat and ignition voltage of CFL resulting in lower efficiency. In order to make a successful photovoltaic lighting system, the first step is to select a well-suited high-frequency inverter and a series interrupting type charge controller for producing light at remote areas while maintaining reliability.