February 3, 2010 -The most critical elements in the balance-of-system (BOS) hardware, inverters convert DC power into AC power and may provide data monitoring. Inverters are grouped in two major categories -- with or without batteries. Grid-connected inverters run at ~96%-97% efficiency, but this drops to 77% for battery-connected (due to the aging effects of the batteries).
Typically, inverters need to be replaced as early as 10 years into a given operating cycle. Inverter designs are optimized for PV installations of different sizes because the system efficiency is pegged to the inverters.
Print Page
Email to a Friend
RSS