A non-isolated DC-DC converter for renewable energy based portable measuring instruments

Abstract

A non-isolated single inductor double input-double output DC-DC converter for portable measuring instruments, powered by renewable energy sources, is presented in this paper. The proposed converter integrates two input sources and provides energy to two outputs with different voltage levels. The converter is useful to power up the different units in portable measuring devices which have diversified input voltage requirements and in addition to that, it is able to charge the batteries for extended use. The use of renewable energy source enables the devices to operate for longer time at remote off grid locations where utility connections are not available. This feature not only minimizes the dependency of the instruments on batteries but also makes it more reliable. The converter has simple design, low power losses due to less components and can operate in single and double input modes. The use of single inductor makes the control easy as the multiple inductors are difficult to integrate. Design and analysis are presented and are verified by simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink.