Controlled power-interface between solar cells and AC source

A novel interface circuit between solar cells and a commercial AC bus using Van Allen's multivibrator is presented. In this circuit, the AC source is used for the backup of solar cells, and the source and load power flow is automatically balanced by the circuit itself without any external phase control. Based on an analysis of the characteristics of the oscillator, the authors describe a novel method to control the DC power from the solar cells according to the current load conditions as well as a simple and fast optimization method to derive the maximum solar power.<>