THE SOLAR INVERTER FOR GRID

CONNECTED PV SYSTEMS
As we already know, photovoltaic solar cells
produce continuous DC (direct current)

when a photovoltaic solar system is required to

connect directly to the mains electricity grid or
contains an AC (alternating current) load, a DC
to AC conversion of the electrical power is
required. TheSolar Inverter provides that
conversion

TheSolar Power Inverteris an important

electronic device that converts the electrical
power generated by the PV solar array into a
clean AC power supply suitable for feeding
directly into the power grid.
 SolarPowerInverterSymbol

In practical terms, the inverter allows us to run electric drills, computers, vacuum
cleaners, mains lighting, and most electrical appliances that can be plugged into
the wall sockets.

If the power inverter is big enough, then larger appliances such as freezers,
refrigerators, and washing machines can also be used. All these standard 120
or 240 volt AC appliances can be powered directly from either the PV solar
array, or by converting the power stored in backup batteries using the
appropriately sized solar power inverter.

Inverter operation is quiet and its output power is available whenever it is

needed so now stand alone battery systems can run just about any standard
commercial appliance, 24 hours a day.

While a single inverter may well be sufficient for a domestic

installation, multiple units become the norm as we advance up the
power scale and their efficiency, reliability, and safety are major
concerns of the system designer.
 SOLAR POWER INVERTER CONFIGURATIONS

Central Inverter Configuration

Several branches of the array are
connected together in parallel.

The complete output of the array is

converted to AC through a single
central solar power inverter and then
fed to the grid.

The single inverter is presented with

a DC input voltage and current which
may be quite large depending upon
the configuration of the array.
This type of inverter configuration gives good efficiency, low cost,
average reliability and since the PV panels within the same array
are evenly matched, the maximum power point tracking (MPPT)
selected by the inverter for the whole array ensures that all the
PV panels operate at, or close too, their maximum power output.
 SOLAR POWER INVERTER CONFIGURATIONS

Central Inverter Configuration

Branch Inverter Configuration

Individual Inverter Configuration

Branch Inverter Configuration
Each branch or string has its own
inverter attached.
Then each single branch can have a
different number of PV panels,
different panel types, positions,
orientations or suffer from full or
partial shading.
The result is that each inverter
produces a different power output
relative to its connected array.
Therefore the array cannot be
efficiently characterised by one single
maximum power point (MPP), as each
inverter will operate at a different
maximum power point with respect to
theThe
others.
main advantage of this type of power inverter
configuration is that each solar branch can be at a different
location or position and not all together in one single array.
Individual Inverter Configuration

Each photovoltaic solar panel

has its own power inverter.

This enables the inverter to select

the optimum power point for the
panel giving very good efficiency
but at a higher cost per kWp.
More components in the array
means lower reliability and more
maintenance.

An increasing number of solar panel manufacturers are

offering individual PV panels with solar power inverters built
directly into the PV panel, making each solar panel its own
complete AC power source allowing it to be plugged directly
into the mains grid.
Grid connected solar power inverters synchronise the electricity they produce
with the local grids AC grade electricity, allowing the system to feed the solar
made electricity directly into the grid, usually through a second electricity kWh
net meter.

Most grid connected power inverters are designed to operate without backup
batteries, but battery based inverter models also are available.

The battery based inverters for use in both stand alone and grid connected
solar systems, generally include an inbuilt battery charger, which is capable of
charging a battery bank directly from the grid during cloudy or bad weather.

High quality solar power inverters are available in sizes from a few 100 watts,
for powering lights, laptops and games consoles from your car, up to tens of
kilowatts, for powering large residential solar system with grid connected
inverters being designed to automatically shut down when there is no grid
power available for safety reasons.

Solar inverters are available in a wide range of power sizes and voltage
ratings to suit just about every combinations of installation but there are
basically three kinds of DC to AC solar power inverter: square wave, modified
sine wave, and pure sine wave.
InverterOutputWaveforms
SQUARE WAVE SOLAR POWER INVERTER
TheSquare Wave Solar Power Inverteris the simplest and the
least expensive type of inverter available. It is generally not used
commercially due to its low quality of output power and very large
harmonics.

Square wave inverters equipped with thyristor output stages chop

and invert (hence the nameInverter) the DC input positive power to
generate a square wave alternating positive to negative AC output
signal that is later filtered to approximate a sine wave and eliminate
undesired harmonics.

Cheaper square wave inverters may also use push-pull transistor

circuits with step-up transformers to produce the required output
voltage.

Square wave inverters are really only used in small stand alone PV
systems that will run simple things like lighting or hand tools with
universal motors with no problem but not much else.
MODIFIED SINE WAVE SOLAR POWER INVERTER

TheModified Sine Wave Solar Power Inverteralso called

aquasi-sine waveinverter, is basically a modified square wave
inverter which produces a square wave output with low harmonic
distortion and a small OFF time between the positive and
negative half cycles as the inverter switches polarity.

Modified sine wave inverters are suitable for most types of

electrical and electronic loads, and are a popular type of inverter
on the consumer market today due to their good conversion
efficiency, relatively low cost, and can be used in solar installations
where waveform shape is not too important.

However, modified sine wave inverters may not allow printers,

copiers, light dimmers, rechargeable and variable tools to operate
correctly due to the switching action of the inverters output stage.

Also some audio amplifiers and radios may produce a low

frequency background buzz due to the inverters output switching
components.