Do you have questions about purchasing a solar kit? Do you have a solar kit and are unsure which inverter to buy because yours has broken? We will address some common misconceptions regarding the various inverters available in this post. First of all, you should be aware that the inverter is the most crucial component of the kit since it is responsible for transforming the direct current (DC) energy produced by the solar panels into the energy that your home requires (alternating current, AC)
First things first: What does an inverter do? The inverter is in charge of designating the operating ranges for each component of your solar system. On the one hand, the inverter restricts the maximum power that the installed solar panel system may provide. The total energy produced by our plates must fluctuate between 3-5 kW if our inverter operates in that range. If not, we are utilising the inverter improperly and will experience several operational issues with both the inverter and the other components of the solar kit.
On the other side, the strength of our chosen batteries will be connected to the strength of our inverter. We may examine the operating ranges on the technical sheet of each inverter. That is to say, picking the right inverter for our solar kit is crucial, thus we will discuss the various inverter kinds. Our inverter will be selected based on the requirements of our house. The appropriate inverters are then described based on whether or not the home is connected to the electrical grid.
Separate inverter
Sole residences without power outlets may employ isolated inverters, making the solar kit and/or a diesel, gasoline, or equivalent generator the only available sources of energy.
Therefore, batteries are necessary to ensure that the residence has complete energy independence, even at night, during inclement weather, or when energy needs exceed what the solar panels can provide. Therefore, in addition to an inverter, a charge regulator and a battery charger are required for the effective operation of our isolated solar kit in order to ensure that the batteries function. We can identify isolated inverters with voltages of 12, 24, and 48V, and we will select the power based on the battery voltage.
charger for inverters
However, you may also purchase an inverter charger. The sole difference between these and isolated inverters is that charger inverters feature a built-in charger that will charge the batteries. At 12, 24, and 48V, the charger inverters also function.
You might choose an inverter-charger-regulator from the isolated inverter family (also known as 3-in-1 inverters). Now, attempt to determine how this individual differs from typical isolated inverters. Exactly! The distinction is that these inverters include an integrated regulator and charger. Depending on the battery voltage, the 3-in-1 inverters also operate at 12, 24, and 48V, and they combine the functions of converting the solar-panel energy into a form that is compatible with the household’s current as well as charging and controlling the battery charging whenever the photovoltaic output exceeds the household’s current needs. Applications for 12v inverters are widespread in daily life.
The grid inverters
A grid connection inverter or hybrid inverter should be used, on the other hand, in homes that are linked to the electrical grid and seek to install a solar kit so that daytime consumption uses the energy generated by the solar panels as a source.
They are equipped to function when linked to the grid in terms of inverters for grid connections. The energy produced by our plates must oscillate within the limits of the grid connection inverter, thus we must account for this energy.
Since generic or pure grid connection inverters do not function with batteries, surplus energy generated but not used will either be lost if the installation is not legal and the wattmeter is not set up properly, or it will be sent into the grid. There are two variants of the common grid connection inverters:
One option is a hybrid inverter, which is unique in that it may operate with or without batteries. On the other side, you can rely on a microinverter if your energy requirements are not particularly high. Microinverters are in the same family as grid connection inverters, but because of their lower operating power (less than 600W) and inability to connect a wattmeter, they can only be used in locations where the grid is always being utilised.
How to pick a suitable inverter
We will begin by discussing the differences between power and energy since it is crucial to understand them.
The demand for the electrical gadget at that precise instant is referred to by the word “power.” The electrical device’s power, which is expressed in watts, is calculated by multiplying the current by the voltage (W).
The time that an electrical gadget is using its corresponding power is referred to as its energy.
For instance, an 80W laptop runs for four hours each day. The laptop uses 80W per 4 hours, or 320 Wh per day, of power.
Second, it’s important to understand that the inverter’s features list its maximum power capacity. The installation is restricted by this power, which cannot be surpassed.
For instance, if we get a 3000 watt power inverter, it will restrict us to that power and we won’t be able to connect any devices that are more powerful than 3000W or a group of devices that are more powerful than that power at the same time.