When purchasing a solar power system for your home or business, inverters are as important as the panels themselves as they convert the electricity produced by the panels into a form suitable to your appliances.

In simple terms, solar panels contain photovoltaic cells made of a multitude of silicon cells (semiconductor materials). When the sunlight strikes onto the panels, it knocks the electrons off the silicon. The electrons start moving around, creating direct current energy (DC).

DC electricity cannot be used by common appliances nor fed into the grid. It needs to be converted into alternating current first. This is where the inverter comes in. It runs the DC current through a transformer to convert into AC current.

Solar inverter technology has advanced significantly. Besides their basic functions, inverters are now providing other options to help installers and owners: information diagnostic, monitoring, control functions, battery management…

The type of inverter depends on the installation scenario. Different configurations are possible. The ideal position and type of inverter will depend essentially on solar panels production (shading, orientation and inclination, cell types, failure, fouling…).

Here are the 3 most common type of inverters for a grid-connected solar power system:

• String inverters

With this type of inverter, panels must be wired in series and connected to each other. Let’s take for example an installation with 30 panels. They are arranged in 10 groups of 3 panels. Each group is referred as a “string” and connected to an inverter located away from the installation. The string inverter is the most common for residential and commercial systems, but it is not suitable for every installation. As it works in series, the electricity production of the all-string will be limited to the least producing panel. If one of the panels is shaded, it will reduce the production of the whole installation.

• Central inverters

In this case, every panel is connected to the same inverter and work as one unit. Basically, a central inverter work as a string inverter but is designed for large-scale and non-residential installations. The disadvantage is the same as the string inverter: if one panel produces less, it will affect the whole installation. However, it is more affordable.

• Microinverters

Microinverters are small inverters installed individually on each panel. Most of the time, the micro inverter is integrated into the panel. It monitors the performance and process to the AC-DC conversion of each panel individually. This makes the micro inverter the best option for partly shaded installations. Microinverter is a popular choice, especially for residential installation.  Systems with micro-inverters can be more efficient but are also the most expensive option.

Inverters are one of the principal components of a solar system, that’s why Energis recommends using multinational companies. Learn more about the best solar inverters in Australia.

If you are considering a solar power system or need some advice on which solar inverter would be the most suitable for your installation, call Energis on 1300 782 217.