IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - March 2017 - 18

for the overall design of power electronics modules and subsystems and includes guidelines for effective and efficient
design of power electronics. This standard provides guidance
on interface definitions and application, including parametric
values for power electronic subsystems consisting of single
or multiple elements. The recommended practice applies to
ac-dc and dc-dc electronic power subsystems. The range of
power subsystems includes dc, single-phase, and three-phase
inputs, with elements having power levels from a fraction of
a watt to 20 kW. The voltage range is 600 V and less, at a frequency or frequencies of dc -1 kHz (although switching frequencies can of course be much higher than values in this
range). For higher-power converters, there is IEEE Standard
295-1969 [5], which relates to sine wave or polyphase voltages and to those working in grid-related activities.
Of course, there are many specific technical areas in
which standards must be followed, and a highly popular
area at the moment is that of solar inverters. For example,
for a solar inverter to be used in Europe, it must conform to
the following standards:
■■EN 50524 [6]. The current version, published in 2010,
covers the data sheet and name plate for photovoltaic
inverters.
■■EN 50530 [7]. The current version, published in 2010,
defines the methods for testing the overall efficiency of
grid-connected photovoltaic inverters.
■■IEC 61683. The current version, published in 1999 [8],
defines the procedure for measuring efficiency and
power conditioners. What this means in practice is how
to assess the power level, input voltage, output voltage,
power factor, harmonic content, load nonlinearity, and
temperature.
■■EN 62109 [9]. This deals with the safety of the power conversion equipment for use in photovoltaic systems and
defines the minimum requirements for protection against
fire, mechanical, electric shock, and other requirements.
In addition to the need for specific power electronics-related standards, there may also be module level or
consumer product standards, particularly for safety. For
example, if a dc-dc converter needs to be integrated into a
communications system, it must satisfy the safety requirements in telecommunications [10] or information technology equipment [11]. These standards are simply a fraction
of the standards applicable to power electronics systems
today, but they give the reader an idea of the scope of individual standards and highlight some of the key issues for
power electronics designers.

field and great opportunities exist for the power electronics
community to come together to define a standard approach
to manage the adoption of these exciting new technologies.

About the Author
Peter Wilson (p.r.wilson@bath.ac.uk) received his B.Eng.
degree from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; his M.B.A. degree from the Edinburgh Business School,
United Kingdom; and his Ph.D. degree from the University of
Southampton, United Kingdom. He is a professor of electronics and systems engineering in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath,
United Kingdom. He received industrial experience at Ferranti, General Electric Company-Marconi, Scotland, United
Kingdom, and Analogy, Inc., United States, before taking up
his previous academic post of associate professor at Southampton in the School of Electronics and Computer Science.
He is a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the British Computer Society, a Senior Member of the
IEEE, and currently serves as executive vice president of
standards for the IEEE Power Electronics Society.

references
[1] IEEE Recommended Practices for Modulating Current in High-Brightness
LEDs for Mitigating Health Risks to Viewers, IEEE Standard 1789, 2015.
[Online]. Available: https://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/1789-2015.html
[2] IEEE Standards Association Frequently Asked Questions. [Online].
Available: https://standards.ieee.org/faqs/
[3] ITRS Reports: ITRS 2.0 Publication. (2015). [Online]. Available: http://
www.itrs2.net/itrs-reports.html
[4] Recommended Practice for Electronic Power Subsystems: Parameters, Interfaces, Elements, and Performance, IEEE Standard P1573, 2003.
[Online]. Available: https://standards.ieee.org/develop/project/1573.html
[5] IEEE Standard for Electronics Power Transformers, IEEE Standard 295,
1969. [Online]. Available: https://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/295-1969
.html
[6] Data Sheet and Name Plate for Photovoltaic Inverters, EN 50524,
2009. [Online]. Available: http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?p
id=000000000030183362
[7] Overall Efficiency of Grid Connected Photovoltaic Inverters, BS EN
50530, 2010 and A1, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://shop.bsigroup.com/Produ
ctDetail/?pid=000000000030270551
[8] Photovoltaic Systems-Power Conditioners: Procedure for Measuring
Efficiency, EN 61683, 2000. [Online]. Available: https://webstore.iec.ch/preview/info_iec61683%7Bed1.0%7Den.pdf
[9] Safety of Power Converters for Use in Photovoltaic Power Systems. Part
1: General Requirements, EN 62109, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/6470

conclusions

[10] Environmental Engineering (EE); Power Supply Interface at the

The role of standards in power electronics systems has
become revitalized with the development of major steps forward due to WBG power semiconductor devices, particularly in SiC and GaN. The step change in performance, and
especially thermal tolerance, has led directly to the need for
new standards and definitions, both for researchers and
industry. It is an exciting time to be in the power electronics

Input to Telecommunications and Datacom (ICT) Equipment; Part 2:

IEEE PowEr ElEctronIcs MagazInE

z March 2017

Operated by -48 V Direct Current (dc), ETS 300 132-2, 2011. [Online]. Available: http://www.etsi.org.
[11] Information Technology Equipment-Safety, IEC Standard 60950-1,
2009. [Online]. Available: http://ulstandards.ul.com/standard/?id=60950-1_1
[12] G. E. Moore, "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits,"
Electronics, vol. 38, pp. 114-117, Apr. 1965.

https://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/1789-2015.html https://standards.ieee.org/faqs/ http://http:// http://www.itrs2.net/itrs-reports.html https://standards.ieee.org/develop/project/1573.html https://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/295-1969 http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?p http://shop.bsigroup.com/Produ https://webstore.iec.ch/pre https://web http://store.iec.ch/ http://www.etsi.org http://ulstandards.ul.com/standard/?id=60950-1_1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - March 2017