A bidirectional DC/DC converter charge/discharge controller for solar energy illumination system integrating synchronous rectification SEPIC converter and active clamp flyback converter

This paper presents a novel bidirectional DC‐to‐DC converter charge/discharge controller for solar energy illumination system. The bidirectional converter architecture integrates the synchronous rectification Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter (SEPIC) converter and an active clamp flyback converter. In addition to fully use the properties of the shared components and compensate for the shortcomings of conventional two‐stage illumination systems, the proposed system has the advantages of soft‐switching, simple structure, and high efficiency. During daytime, a SEPIC converter with synchronous rectification function was used to charge the lead acid battery through three‐stage charging and maximum power point tracking. At night, the battery discharges, driving and dimming high‐brightness LEDs using the active clamp flyback converter. Finally, a solar energy illumination system with both a 160 W charge/discharge controller and an 80 W LED driver was implemented to verify the feasibility and practicality of the proposed system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.