Power factor correction circuits and methods including partial power factor correction operation for boost and buck power converters

A power factor correction circuit comprising:

• a bridge rectification circuit configured to (i) receive an alternating current (AC) voltage, and (ii) generate a rectified AC voltage;
• a power converter configured to convert the rectified AC voltage to a first direct current (DC) voltage, wherein the power converter comprises a switch and supplies the first DC voltage to a DC bus to power a compressor;
• a current sensor configured to detect an amount of current (i) passing through the power converter, or (ii) returning from an output of the power factor correction circuit;
• and
• a control module configured to, while operating in a partial power factor correction mode,
• based on the rectified AC voltage, a phase angle of the rectified AC voltage, a second DC voltage, or the detected amount of current, control operation of the switch to transition between operating in (i) a high activity mode and (ii) an inactive mode or a low activity mode, wherein the second DC voltage is a detected DC voltage of the DC bus,
• transition the switch between an open state and a closed state while in the high activity mode and the low activity mode;
• and
• maintain the power converter in an OFF state while in the inactive mode.