Effect of ambient temperature on the performance of power electronic converters

Efficiency of power electronics devices are highly dependent on temperature. Hence temperature compensation and heat sink design are very important factors in maintaining the performance quality of power electronic converters. Thus the ambient temperature at which the device is operating also effects the performance since the heat removal by heat sinks or cooling fans is affected by the ambient temperature. Here a detailed analysis of the dependency of losses in power electronic switches on the junction temperature and in turn ambient temperature is presented. A theoretical Analysis of conduction losses and effect of ambient temperature on it is presented along with a set of experimental results by analyzing the performance of a 850W Solar PV inverter at various ambient temperatures. The results are satisfactorily explaining the effect of ambient temperature on converter efficiency.