Leakage current minimization is one of the most important considerations in transformerless photovoltaic (PV) inverters. In the past, various transformerless PV inverter topologies have been introduced, with leakage current minimized by the means of galvanic isolation and common-mode voltage (CMV) clamping. The galvanic isolation can be achieved via dc-decoupling or ac-decoupling, for isolation on the dc- or ac-side of the inverter, respectively. It has been shown that the latter provides lower losses due to the reduced switch count in conduction path. Nevertheless, leakage current cannot be simply eliminated by galvanic isolation and modulation techniques, due to the presence of switches’ junction capacitances and resonant circuit effects. Hence, CMV clamping is used in some topologies to completely eliminate the leakage current. In this paper, several recently proposed transformerless PV inverters with different galvanic isolation methods and CMV clamping technique are analyzed and compared. A simple modified H-bridge zero-voltage state rectifier is also proposed, to combine the benefits of the low-loss ac-decoupling method and the complete leakage current elimination of the CMV clamping method. The performances of different topologies, in terms of CMV, leakage current, total harmonic distortion, losses and efficiencies are compared. The analyses are done theoretically and via simulation studies, and further validated with experimental results. This paper is helpful for the researchers to choose the appropriate topology for transformerless PV applications and to provide the design principles in terms of common-mode behavior and efficiency.

• A primary concern for transformerless PV inverters is high leakage current, which is caused by the lack of galvanic isolation and the presence of fluctuating common-mode voltage (CMV).
• Two main methods to reduce leakage current are galvanic isolation and CMV clamping. Galvanic isolation can be achieved via DC-decoupling or AC-decoupling, with the latter providing lower losses and higher efficiency.
• Galvanic isolation alone is insufficient to completely eliminate leakage current due to parasitic effects; CMV clamping is also required.

A modified topology, the H-bridge zero-voltage state rectifier (HBZVR-D), is proposed to combine the low-loss benefits of AC-decoupling with the complete leakage current elimination of CMV clamping.