Helpful hints to select a power-factor-correction solution for low- and medium-power single-phase power supplies

This paper presents a review of power-factor-correction (PFC) circuits for low- and medium-power single-phase power supplies. The main idea is not just to show the state of the art of this topic but to select the most interesting topologies for each application depending on the power level, the input voltage range, and the output voltage. Since IEC 61000-3-2 regulations came into force, many new topologies have been presented trying to obtain a cost-effective solution to reduce the input current harmonic content. Each one of them has its application range due to the inherent characteristics of the topology. Obviously not every converter is useful for the same application. This is especially perceptible in PFC circuits due to the large amount of different solutions. Hence, this paper tries to show the most appropriate topologies for each application, being the input power and the IEC 61000-3-2 Class some of the main parameters to select it. The scope of the paper is focused on single-phase power supplies belonging to IEC 61000-3-2 Class A and Class D with an input power level below 4 kW.