Indian households are provided with huge amounts of solar energy as most parts of India receive 4-7 kWh per square meter per day. This makes Indian homes potentially suitable for installing solar power systems and harnessing the solar energy generated by the sun. If you’ve thought about installing a solar power plant on your property too but have little to no knowledge of solar inverters, then here’s a post to help you get a basic idea of what a solar inverter is, how it works and types of solar inverters available in the market. So without further ado, let’s get started.
What is a solar inverter?
A solar inverter is the heart of a solar power system. It performs several important functions, such as converting the direct current received by the solar panels into alternating current. It also charges the battery and provides power to home appliances. Most importantly, it monitors the voltage and thus prevents damage to household appliances and electronics.
How a solar inverter works
Now that you know what a solar inverter is, let’s find out how a solar inverter works. As we know, solar panels receive sunlight from the sun and convert it to direct current (DC). When the sun shines into the solar panels, the electrons begin to move back and forth in the solar cells, which in turn leads to the generation of energy in the form of direct current (DC). The direct current then flows to the solar inverter, which in turn converts it into alternating current (AC) to power the household appliances and charge the solar batteries.
Types of solar inverters
Solar inverters can be divided into three main types – grid-tied, off-grid and hybrid.
1. Grid-connected inverters
Grid-connected inverters, also called on-grid inverters, are connected to the local grid. They are best for areas where there are power outages that are rare and short-lived.
Typically, the household appliances are operated with the energy generated by the solar panels. However, if the solar panels cannot produce enough energy (e.g. at night or on a cloudy day) to supply the house with electricity, the local grid covers the deficit needs. The good thing is that the energy drawn from the local grid can be offset in your monthly bill by requesting a net meter that allows you to transfer the excess energy produced by the solar panels to the local one Feed into the grid.
What happens in the event of a power failure?
Grid-connected inverters do not work in the event of a power failure. This may sound like a disadvantage of a grid-connected inverter, but it is important to ensure the safety of the network workers who are fixing the fault in the line between your home and the local grid. This safety function is known as anti-islanding and prevents any flow of energy from the house into the local grid during a power failure. For this reason, grid-connected inverters are best for areas with minimal power outages.
2. Off-grid inverter
As the name suggests, off-grid inverters have no connection to the local grid. Off-grid inverters rely exclusively on solar energy for their energy needs. In scenarios in which the solar modules do not produce enough energy to meet the energy needs of a household, these off-grid inverters draw energy from the solar batteries, which are charged during the day when the solar modules produce more energy than is actually needed. Off-grid inverters are best suited for areas with frequent or long power outages. In the event that someone buys a second home or property that has no local power supply nearby, installing stand-alone inverters on such properties is a good idea.
3. Hybrid inverter
Hybrid inverters, as the name suggests, are a combination of grid-connected and grid-independent inverters. They combine the best of both worlds as they can be installed in areas with high blackouts as well as areas with minimal blackouts. Hybrid inverters can draw power from the local grid as well as from solar batteries. Hybrid inverters allow the flexibility to store excess energy generated by the solar modules in the solar batteries and feed it back into the local grid. The same energy can be used in the evening or at night if your solar panels are not generating enough energy.
Go solar. Save big.
By installing a solar power system, you not only save electricity costs, but also reduce your carbon footprint. But before you go for solar power, make sure you find a reliable brand that has a reputation for providing high quality solar products. We encourage you to visit Luminous India’s website and see their extensive range of solar products. You can also call their solar experts and get advice on which solar inverter is best suited to your requirements.
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