company news

What are the main characteristics of photovoltaic inverters

1. Low-loss conversion
One of the most important properties of an inverter is its conversion efficiency, a value that represents the proportion of energy inserted when direct current is returned as alternating current, and modern devices operate at about 98% efficiency.


2. Power optimization

The power characteristic curve of a PV module depends to a large extent on the radiant intensity and temperature of the module, in other words, on the values that change throughout the day, therefore, the inverter must find and continuously observe the optimum on the power characteristic curve. operating point in order to extract maximum power from the PV module in each case.


3. Monitoring and Protection
On the one hand, the inverter monitors the power generation of the photovoltaic power plant, and on the other hand, it also monitors the grid to which it is connected. Therefore, if there is a problem with the grid, it must immediately disconnect the plant from the grid for safety reasons, depending on the requirements of the local grid operator.
Furthermore, in most cases, the inverter is equipped with a device that can safely interrupt the current flow to the PV modules. Since the PV module is always active when it is emitting light, it cannot be turned off. If the inverter cables are disconnected during operation, dangerous arcs may form and these arcs will not be extinguished by the direct current. If the circuit breaker is integrated directly in the frequency converter, installation and wiring work can be greatly reduced.


4. Communication
The communication interface on the frequency converter allows control and monitoring of all parameters, operating data and output. Via a network connection, an industrial fieldbus such as RS 485, it is possible to retrieve data and set parameters for the inverter. In most cases, data is retrieved via a data logger that collects data from multiple inverters and, if required, transmits them to a free online data portal.


5. Temperature management
The temperature in the inverter case also affects the conversion efficiency, if the rise is too large, the inverter must reduce power, and in some cases the available module power cannot be fully used. On the one hand, the installation location affects the temperature - a continuously cool environment is ideal. On the other hand, it directly depends on the operation of the inverter: even 98% efficiency means 2% power loss. If the plant power is 10 kW, the maximum heat capacity is still 200 W.


6. Protection
The weatherproof housing, ideally with protection class IP 65, allows the inverter to be installed outdoors in any desired location. Advantages: The closer you are to the modules that can be installed in the inverter, the less you will spend on relatively expensive DC wiring.