Sinewave inverters are the best choice for clean, mains-quality power in renewable energy systems. Lance Turner takes a quick look at sinewave inverter basics and what is available.
One of the most important components in a 240 volt renewable energy system is the inverter.
This is the device that converts the extra-low voltage DC electricity from the battery bank into 240 volt AC mains power to run standard appliances. It is important to have a good inverter—if your home relies solely on 240 volt power from the inverter and the inverter fails, you will have no power, even though it is still being generated and stored.
Inverters are divided into two main types depending on the type of power they provide—modified squarewave and sinewave. Modified squarewave (sometimes referred to as modified sinewave to make them sound better!) are the cheaper of the two, but some appliances (such as VCRs, TVs and computers) may not run as efficiently using this type of power, and some may not run at all.
On the other hand, sinewave inverters provide the same type of power that comes from the mains grid. Indeed, the power from a good quality sinewave inverter will usually exceed the grid in terms of quality and voltage stability. For this guide we will only be looking at sinewave inverters, as modified squarewave inverters are becoming less popular in fixed renewable energy systems as the difference in price between the two types steadily reduces.
Read the full article in ReNew 105.This entry was posted on Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 4:00 pm