A Multi-Port Partial Power Converter for Smart Home Applications

Multi-port architectures based on multi-winding transformers allow the connection of multiple electrical components to achieve smart home functionality. However, existing solutions use full power semiconductor devices or are constrained by the complexity of the multi-winding transformer design. As an alternative, this work proposes a new multi-port partial power converter (PPC) architecture. The proposed multi-port PPC architecture enables the partial power by using the series resonant converter (SRC) based DC transformer. In contrast to the prior art solutions, the proposed converter can be built using partial power semiconductor devices, and only a single transformer rated for a part of the overall power is required. The operating principle and design criteria are also described in the paper. The effect of partial power utilization is analyzed in detail. Finally, the proposed topology has been validated using a 3 kW prototype.