The solar power inverter is the heart of the solar photovoltaic system, and it has mainly four jobs, so it’s important for us to know about, as following:
1. Electricity Conversion Job:
It converts DC (direct current) electricity produced by the solar array, which is usually in the range 200V – 600VDC to AC (alternating current) electricity which is usable by our electrical equipment, such as 220VAC used in Egypt, 240VAC used in Australia, and 110/120VAC used in USA.
2. Power Maximization Job:
The solar panels have a point on their performance curve in which they generate maximum power under a set of circumstances, and this point called (Maximum Power Point), and on the other side, the solar inverter has maximum power point tracking feature "MPPT", so it continuously searches and hunts this point to maximize the generated energy/power from your solar system. Inverter.com offers this feature for each Micro Inverter.
3. Regulation Job:
The sun radiation intensity varies along the day, and the solar array output varies accordingly, so the first regulation job of the inverter is to accept and regulate such change in DC electricity, trying maximize the DC energy harvest as described in aforementioned second job. Also, grid parameters like voltage, and frequency change with grid loads variation, so the second regulation job of the inverter is to regulate and synchronize all these variables, so the solar system can be connected to the grid safely within power quality specs, and with No disconnection in case of grid tie solar photo-voltaic systems. Another regulation job of the solar inverter is monitoring, and protection for both DC voltage, and AC voltage sides parameters, so it disconnects in case of faults or for safety reasons.
4. Monitoring Job:
The solar power inverter does a wide range of measurements, so you can be rest assured the whole system is working as expected and to check the faults cause if they exist, then troubleshoot. The inverter displays these measurements in different forms, you can access them on its display screen or via smart phone application or via specified monitors, etc. So, you can check with your solar system installer to recommend you the appropriate monitoring system option.
