A solar power inverter is a device that converts the electricity generated by solar panels from DC to AC, which is the type of electricity used in homes and businesses. This conversion makes solar-generated power compatible with the electrical grid and appliances. Contact online >>
A solar power inverter is a device that converts the electricity generated by solar panels from DC to AC, which is the type of electricity used in homes and businesses. This conversion makes solar-generated power compatible with the electrical grid and appliances.
The verdict on solar inverter sizing. Oversizing a solar array relative to a solar power inverter''s rating (DC-to-AC ratio greater than one) allows for increased energy harvest throughout most of the day, especially in the morning and late afternoon.
Note: This blog was originally published in February 2021. It was updated in October 2024 to reflect the most recent information. If you have any questions, please contact us.
In the solar industry, producing electricity is our bread and butter. This means it''s important for solar professionals to have a strong grasp of electricity fundamentals.
If you''re new to solar, there''s a lot to learn — you can''t just plug the panels into the wall and call it a day. In today''s article, we cover one of the core topics every installer needs to understand about electricity: the difference between AC and DC, the two types of electric current.
AC stands for alternating current and DC for direct current. AC and DC power refer to the current flow of an electric charge. Each represents a type of "flow," or form, that the electric current can take.
"A simple way to visualize the difference [between AC and DC] is that, when graphed, a DC current looks like a flat line, whereas the flow of AC on a graph makes a sinusoid or wave-like pattern," says Karl K. Berggren, professor of electrical engineering at MIT.
When electric power was first being developed and used in the late 1880s, it was unclear whether AC or DC would become the dominant way electricity was supplied. Two famous pioneers of electricity — Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla — each advanced one of these options.
Edison had developed DC first, so electricity that ran continuously in one direction was the standard in the U.S. during the early years of electricity. However, one issue with DC is that it''s not easily converted to higher or lower voltages — which is obviously useful for different applications.
Tesla believed he had the solution to this problem and patented AC, which can be converted to different voltages using transformers, and it''s also easier to transmit AC power over long distances.
Of course, Edison didn''t want to lose out on his royalties, so he started a misinformation campaign to discredit AC as dangerous (in which he went so far as to publicly electrocute animals!).
At the peak of this "War of the Currents" was the Chicago World''s Fair of 1893. General Electric placed a bid to provide electricity for the fair using Edison''s DC, but lost to George Westinghouse, who said he could power the fair for $155,000 less using Tesla''s AC.
Slowly but surely, power companies started to realize the benefit of using AC, and by the late 1890s, it had become the more dominant source of energy, and remains so to this day. However, DC is still used for devices like computers, solar cells, and electric vehicles.
The short answer is, "both". The U.S. electric grid and the power flowing into your home are AC. As a result, most plug-in home appliances — refrigerators, electric ovens, microwaves, and so on — run on AC power.
Batteries, however, use direct current: They have a positive and negative terminal, and current always flows in the same direction between those points — from the positive to negative terminals — when they''re being discharged.
Because solar panels generate direct current, solar PV systems need to use inverters. The inverter converts DC energy into AC energy so that electricity can be used in the home or sent back to the electric grid (in addition to some other functions).
What about those DC-powered devices? Well, the power adapter that''s part of the charger for these devices is, in fact, a form of inverter. They convert the AC grid supply to DC power that can be used by the device.
So, when you plug in your laptop in your solar-powered home, the DC power from the solar panels is converted to AC by your inverter, it''s then turned back into DC by your laptop''s inverter, so your laptop can use it to charge.
That may seem like a lot. Thankfully, there''s solar software out there that can help ease the burden when actually putting these concepts into practice with solar system design. This solar software buyer''s guide details some of the features you should look for when considering a solution.
As we discussed above, technically all solar panels produce DC energy. That energy is then converted to AC power by the inverter. This is the case whether your PV system includes a string inverter (which converts energy from one or multiple strings of solar panels) or microinverters (which convert it for individual, or in some cases a few, solar panels).
AC panels are simply solar panels that have microinverters integrated into them. System design using AC panels is similar to designing a system with microinverters, except that the installer doesn''t need to buy and attach the microinverters separately.
Again, technically all solar panels are DC panels because that''s how the panels work — they all produce a flow of electrons in one direction. As such, many panels on the market are DC panels. There are some pros and cons to buying DC solar panels.
Safety: Edison may have taken his smear campaign against AC a little too far, but he was onto something. DC voltage is considered safer than AC because it doesn''t have as much of a risk of electrocution or shock.
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