Effects of Wide Bandgap Devices on the Inverter Performance and Efficiency for Residential PV Applications

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. In my opinion, the introduction on sources of electrical energy is unnecessary and too extensive. The analysis of power sources is not the main topic of the article. Please focus more on the problem discussed in the article and include appropriate references. At the moment, the whole article and the 
It is only in section 2 that the authors begin to address the main topic of the article.
I have no objections to this section. From the beginning of section 2, the problem is described in a clear and legible way. I would even say too simple, but that is a matter of interpretation.

2. The text of the article lacks of references to the equations used in the paper. 
3. Too much text in the article devoted to the theory of switching and inverter operation.
4. Were any larger scale studies conducted? At the moment this seems more like a concept demonstrator and testing of the presented idea, rather than a thorough analysis of the losses in both discussed cases. This is confirmed by the section with presented simulations
5. Therefore, it is a bit of an exaggeration to call this article an analysis of the impact of the impact on inverter efficiency. It is rather an attempt to examine the assumed thesis.
6. In summarizing the presented results of the work, although promising, seems to be preliminary work. It is necessary to clearly emphasize the real achievements of the authors and emphasize that these are preliminary works. Therefore, in order to present an evaluation of the described idea, laboratory measurements on a large scale should be carried out.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript explores the Effects of Wide Bandgap Devices on the Inverter Performance
and Efficiency for Residential PV Applications. The manuscript comprehensively reviews the background literature on the different types of inverters and why it needs to be enhanced due to the loss in power. Find below some few suggestions to help improve the manuscript.

1. Under the experimental setup, has permission been sought under the appropriate ethics for the use of company names in this manuscript instead of just re-identifying them. If not then remove the names of the companies, but if yes explain how that was done.
2. Authors should expand on the operating condition of 400V and why.
3. How does the results compare with other studies on inverters, this should be captured under the inverter evaluation performance section.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I think, the article is interesting and the issue is topical. The semiconductors with higher width of the band gap are interesting alternative to the silicon. I have only few formal comments, see below. I can recommend the article for publication after a minor revision.

Comments:

- Introduction - It's a matter of opinion, but I dont think, that energy sources like crude oil, coal and natural gas are considered to be major energy sources for generating electricity. I think that nuclear energy is the most important energy source for the future. I think, renewable energy sources have an important place in the energy mix, but their importance should not be overestimated. Their capacity cannot cover the energy consumption. Especially in the case of photovoltaics, the main disadvantage is the low efficiency of energy conversion, low energy density and a short service life.

- Line 37 – I recommend to write better GWp (peak), not GW. It is the maximum power, for example during the night, the power equals to zero.

- Figs. 6, 7 – The axes are not marked. The horizontal axis probably Time (s), the vertical axis I (A/dev.), V (V/dev.)? There are no values. Similarly Fig. 11 and in this case the font is small and not readable.

- Fig. 8 – A and °C (units) should be in standard font, not italica. Similarly Fig. 9 (V).

- According my checking, there is 73 references and MDPI journals are mentioned only in 4 cases. For example, the articles doi:10.3390/s22207769 and doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.09.703 speak about signal distortion in the electronic devices in the network. I think, it could be inspiration for authors and it could be mentioned in references.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I thank the authors for the explanations they provided. They fully satisfy me. The article is now much clearer and easier to understand. I have no major objections to the article and I recommend its publication

Comments on the Quality of English Language

no comments

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

All my comments are addressed