A Novel Reduced Switch Five‐Level Common Ground Transformerless Inverter Feeding an Isolated Load

ABSTRACT Transformerless multilevel inverters (MLIs) with common ground (CG) configurations have emerged as a favorable solution for grid‐connected photovoltaic (PV) applications due to their capability to mitigate leakage current while enabling efficient conversion of power. This paper presents a novel reduced switch five‐level common ground transformerless inverter (CG‐TLI) topology that achieves a balanced combination of compactness, simplicity, and performance. The proposed configuration utilizes only seven switches, one diode, two capacitors, and a single input DC source. By employing a CG structure, the topology completely eliminates leakage current and simultaneously achieves voltage boosting without the need for a separate boost converter, whereas the capacitors are inherently self‐balanced, eliminating the need for complex balancing circuits. Moreover, the inverter supports reactive power exchange and demonstrates high efficiency under various steady‐state and dynamic operating conditions. The modulation strategy and operating principles are thoroughly discussed, followed by detailed comparative evaluations against existing state‐of‐the‐art MLI topologies. The proposed claims are verified through comprehensive MATLAB/Simulink simulations. Finally, a scaled‐down laboratory prototype was developed and tested in order to experimentally verify the practical feasibility and performance capabilities of the proposed five‐level TLI topology.