the power of power electronics

7/28/2019 The Power of Power Electronics

1/6

The Power of Power Electronics

Demand for electrical and electronics engineers in the field of power

electronics is steadily on the rise in India. But what is required ofthem to befit this industry? Lets look at the current scenario,including entry-level roles, typical pay-packages, skills expected andmuch more

Abhishek Mutha

What is the one thing that the Indian power sector wishes to eradicate? Power cuts, ofcourse. This is the most common, aggravating and discomforting problem faced byhundreds of millions of people across India.

As a result, One of the current focus areas in the power sector is driving energyconservation at large power plants, where auxiliary power consumes close to 10 per cent ofwhat is generated, says Prakash Nayak, chairman, IET India Power Engineers Panel.

Many countries including India, of late, have been deploying variable-frequency and highly


2/6

energy-efficient drives to improve the energy efficiency of the motors or pumps which areenergy guzzlers, Nayak adds.

On the renewable side of energy, India is fortunate to have over 3000 hours of sunshineannually. Nayak explains, Solar energy can be utilised as an alternative source of energy,with the help of photovoltaic or concentrated solar thermal power technology. This

technology uses extensive power electronics devices and systems; one example istransformerless high-efficiency inverters ranging from small capacity such as 300W tohundreds of megawatts.

Talking about yet another renewable source of energywindNayak shares India has alarge potential of the order of 40 GW per year. The cost, initially, might be on higher side,however, it is coming down at a much faster rate and will reach grid parity by 2017.

Commenting on the evolution of power electronics, he says, In order to have efficient bulktransmission from generating hub to industrial hub, these hubs deploy IGBT-based HVDCconverters at each of the substations, static VAR compensations, etc.

Drives for increased energy efficiency in power plants, inverters used in both wind and solar

power generation and converters used in HVDC transmission for bulk transfer of power areall based on power electronics technology.

Another emerging area is DC grid, which deploys devices like solidstate transformers andswitchgears.

Career opportunities in this fieldIn addition to the industrial sector, power electronics is rapidly gaining momentum inautomotive space too with the advent of electric and hybrid vehicles, says Basavaraj

Garadi, chief expert, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions.

Engineers interested in this field are required to have experience with converters, rectifiers

and inverters (AC and DC) and should be experts in specific fields across the engineeringlife-cycle, including design, test and support. Specialist areas could include switch-modepower supply, motor control, IGBT/MOSFET design and battery charging system.

DC grid opens tremendous opportunities for power electronics engineers and researchers.Activities related to power semiconductor development, product development, and alsosystem simulation and power system development are surely going to create greater careeropportunities in the field of power electronics, informs Nayak.

Sharing his views on why one should opt for this field of engineering, Garadi explains, Inthe past, there was none or minimal direct involvement of electronics in power generation.With the advent of solar energy, power electronics is the key element in PV plants. Motorcontrol is another system that is widely applied in industrial and automotive applications.

Three-phase induction motors and BLDC motors are hot topics, says Garadi. Variable-frequency drives find multiple applications. Garadi adds, There is significant work on AC-to-DC, DC-to-AC and DC-DC power converters. You see them in all sectors, includingindustrial, home and even automotive too.

Skills required to succeed1. A thorough knowledge of power electronics fundamentals, including basic power


3/6

conversion topologies2. Modelling of power electronics circuits and systems3. Matlab/Simulink (or equivalent software) expertise for simulating power electronicssystems in various applications4. Control implementation5. Knowledge of PCB design

6. Awareness about EMI/EMC issues7. Programming of microcontrollers, DSP processors, etc8. Knowledge of the hardware design of power electronics circuits and systemsVivek Agarwal, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute

of Technology-BombayCurrent scenario of power electronics for engineers in IndiaFor a few years, there was not much focus on this field as the need was not felt. But todaywith so many developments happening, the scenario is changing, says Nayak.

Sharing his personal experience, he adds, In a multinational company that I worked forearlier, I was responsible for developing a resource base for both R&D and engineering

services catering to global requirements. It was difficult in the beginning to get theresources but in a span of two years we managed to hire and develop over 200 resources,though there were only a few experts in this area.

In India, as there are very few institutes/universities that offer competitive and valuableundergraduate or graduate programmes in power electronics, there is a scarcity of expertmanpower in this field, said Vivek Agarwal, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering,Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay.

Entry-level roles could be in technical areas like design, testing and

commissioning. Those with a higher proficiency level could move into the researcharea

Prakash Nayak, chairman, IET India Power Engineers PanelUsually, power electronics companies with indigenous capabilities belong to the small-scaleor medium-scale category and do not have significant R&D activity.

Agarwal adds, During the last two decades, some of the multinational companies have setup their R&D centres and manufacturing units in India where specialised power electronicssystems are designed and developed but the number of such organisations is very small.

Whats it like for freshers?There are quite a few companies engaged in power electronics products, especially those inenergy sector.

Nayak says, Entry-level roles could be in technical areas like design, testing andcommissioning. Those with a higher proficiency level could move into the research area.

He adds, Nanotechnology is also bringing in tremendous opportunity in powersemiconductor design. There are also some activities in automotive OEMs and Tier-1companies in the areas of electric and hybrid vehicles.

Currently, due to the scarcity of good power electronics engineers, the need is met by


4/6

recruiting electronics or electrical engineers. Specialised (postgraduate-level) powerelectronics engineers are usually absorbed by multinational companies in R&D jobs and getto work on specialised projects, adds Agarwal. He believes that it is not difficult for afresher with power electronics background to get into this sector.

On a slightly contradictory note, Garadi says, It is highly unlikely that undergraduate

freshers will be able to directly involve in power electronics design activities. However,smart engineers with a flair for power electronics could get into it.

With on-the-job training under the guidance of experienced engineers, freshers would dowell by starting off with product testing and gaining experience donning the role of a designengineer, Garadi adds. Postgraduates in power electronics can plunge into design ordebugging of power electronics products.

Typical pay packagesPower electronics field offers highly satisfying pay packages. Since it is a specialisedsegment, competent engineers enjoy a special status vis--vis other hardware engineers.

In fact, they command a better pay package than mixed-signal board designers. The exact

pay package depends on the company recruiting, plus the specific skills that the company isseeking. The starting salary for a postgraduate in power electronics could be around Rs600,000 a year, Garadi informs.

For undergraduates passing out from reputed academic institutes and universities, it is

approximately Rs 400,000-700,000 a year. For postgraduate students, it is typically Rs500,000 to Rs 1,000,000, while those with a PhD are able to draw Rs 900,000-Rs 1,600,000a year, adds Agarwal.

Skills requiredAccording to industry experts, applied mathematics will go a long way for a good grasp ofpower electronics. A good background on linear and non-linear systems will help in

understanding the various concepts. Circuit simulation will help in reinforcing theoreticalconcepts.

Garadi suggests, A good understanding of the behaviour of magnetics, power FETs and

IGBTs is the key to designing and debugging power circuits but, finally, a hands-onapproach is the only way to master any topic.

Nayak adds, Aspirants must be strong in power semiconductors application engineering in

power system, as there are tremendous opportunities and also continuous improvement indesign of semiconductors focusing on cost and materials used.

Participating in industrial seminars, conferences and exhibitions related to power electronicssystems and products would help improve ones knowledge base.

Agarwal says, An internship in the power electronics division of reputed organisationswould help one gain a good experience of designing and fabricating at least some basicpower electronics systems.

Short-term courses to fine-tune skillsWhen it comes to short-term courses, there are just a few of them. Some institutes offeradvanced training in power electronics for graduates, while others offer courses in powerdevices, motors and motor controls, AC drives, etc. A few institutes also offer certificate


5/6

courses in power electronics, power supply design and switched-mode supplies.

Garadi shares, I do not see any short-term course in power electronics doing full justice tothe topic. However, there are a lot of masters programmes in power electronics offered by

many premier technical institutes. IITs, these days, are offering integrated B.Tech andM.Tech programmes in power electronics.

There is a scarcity of expert manpower in this field

Vivek Agarwal, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Instituteof Technology-Bombay

In addition to the industrial sector, power electronics is rapidly gainingmomentum in automotive space too with the advent of electric and hybrid

vehicles. Power electronics engineers command a better pay package than mixed-signal board designers. The exact pay package depends on the company recruiting

plus the specific skills that the company is seeking

Basavaraj Garadi, chief expert, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business SolutionNayak concedes, Best learning is achieved through on-the-job training at the industries asthey give tremendous opportunities and challenges for harnessing the skills and alsoapplication of their basic knowledge leading to product design and solutions.

Sharing with us how Bosch spends time and effort in training and sharpening skills of newrecruits, Garadi says, Freshers go through intensive training both in generic topics that

they are likely to be associated with and specific domain that they get into.

He adds, We are continuously improving the training programmes and the content. We arebringing in hands-on training with a few sample design tasks so that the engineers realise

and appreciate the challenges and get an idea of the serious nature of engineering.

Times are changingIndustry experts believe that power electronics is an emerging field in India. In spite ofbeing an interesting core engineering area of interdisciplinary nature with a lot ofchallenges, it is believed to be less popular.

Agarwal feels, This is probably because of a general bias against the field of power, which

is considered to be an old and well established field.

He further adds, Until a few decades ago, a power electronics engineer could find a job

only in homegrown private companies (which were very few) and select governmentestablishments such as BHEL, DRDO and ISRO. But with the coming of multinational

companies (MNCs) and the increasing thrust on renewable energy conditioning, automotiveindustry, efficient lighting systems and electric drives, available opportunities and salarieshave increased significantly.

Garadi says, All of these sectors offer numerous employment opportunities to graduates as

well as postgraduates. There are both large MNCs as well as SMEs that pick professionals inpower electronics on a regular basis. Incidentally, last year, our own company recruited afew from premier IITs.


6/6

With power electronics visible in almost all spheres of life, and with increasing competition

among the local industries and the growing need for power electronics, a sharp rise in thedemand for power electronics experts is inevitable, believes Agarwal.

In the futureThe global need for core engineering is increasing, which is one of the reasons why many of

the global companies are setting up research and engineering units outside their base.

Nayak says, Core engineering is very much in demand as there will be a huge capacitybuild up with countrys plan of 100 GW during the current Planning period, i.e., 2012-17.

He adds, Considering recent developments in the field of power systems, a ll-round focus onrenewable energy and drive towards efficiency and bulk transmission, both in India andabroad, there is enough scope for power electronics. There will be tremendous placementopportunities for those who are willing to pursue a career in power electronics.

IET Power panel, headed by Nayak, consists of representatives from industries, academiaand research units, focuses on ways to develop the core engineering resources and how tomake them employable through the panels young professional and student chapter

activities with continuous interaction and guidance.

the power of power electronics

Documents