INVERTERS
Major Inverters Players in India As the country’s growth trajectory is showing upward trends, the main driving force for acceleration of the industries is continuous supply of electricity. We know India has a shortage of power and is one of the hurdles for sustainable growth. This makes back-
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up power system industry as the growing market in the country. Although India has many inverter players struggling to carve out their space, the demand remains high with the day. Inverters play an important role in power backup system. The country is rapidly shifting from conventional source of energy to green energy. Although Photovoltaic (PV) plays an important role in driving the solar power growth in the country however, the inverter stands in the heart of the growth of the solar system. The inverter can be defined as a device that converts DC current into AC, which means it acts as a gateway. The uninterrupted supply of power to keep the wheels of industry running is one of the biggest factors of growing demand in the inverter sector in India. The two types of inverters that dominate the market are String and Central inverters. Traditionally Central inverters are used across the board, however, with the advancement of technology the string inverters have been introduced as well. Apart from the basic designs the two types differ in size and components as well. A central inverter is placed near the electricity panels, mostly away from harsh climate conditions and is protected from exposure to hail storm, rain, snow or harsh wind. A central inverter works in a systematic way. DC power is taken from all the solar panels and stored in a combiner box. The DC power is subsequently taken to the central inverter where it is converted into AC power thus making it useful for industrial usage. The
voltage generated from the central inverter
directly deal with the shading issues however
is quite high. At maximum it can go upto
the balance of power is maintained. These
1500 volts.
types of inverters are mainly used in residential
The main usage for the central inverter is
and commercial places.
in large-scale industrial applications. The
The sheer size and the easy installation of this
sheer size and the power output make it
inverter have become a perfect replacement/
a perfect fit for the industrial purpose. This
alternative for smaller installations of 1 MW.
type of inverter has lower per unit power
Similarly, with the advancement of technology
cost but a slightly higher installation cost,
the string inverters have a great potential
however, the installation per se is easy as
in the market. There is an option for power
there are very few components which make
optimization in this type of inverter. The pairing
the connection of inverter easy.
of power optimizers with string inverter is
Similarly, the central inverters are in the
gaining momentum. The power electronics
market for long now and have gained a
are placed or installed on the module level
potential trust of users and businesses alike.
which means every solar panel has one
The sheer amount of time it is present in the
power electronic gadget attached to it.
market makes it a credible bet for the users
The power optimizers have potential to cover
and the industry alike.
the effects that are caused by shades which
Having said, there is a small disadvantage
string inverters cannot do on its own. Before
attached to the central inverters as well. All
sending the DC electricity to the inverter, the
the system gets affected in one of the panels
power is conditioned for the higher efficiency.
is in shade. The power output gets affected
The installation of string inverter alone cannot
and the performance of entire system is
do that. Although the installation cost for this
reduced due to one shaded panel.
type of inverter is slightly higher than central
Another type of inverter is string inverter. The
inverter but it requires less maintenance.
infrastructure of string inverter works when
As the technology is advancing, the string
solar panels are installed in rows with each
inverters have also been transformed. From
on a string. The strings are then connected
the initial four and six string system it now
to the inverter. Each string carries the power
boosts of 12 string inverters. Furthermore to
(DC), which is produced by the panels, to
accommodate smart grids, the latest systems
string inverter where it is converted into
are installed with the advanced features
usable electricity.
that would come in handy whenever new
There is no shading issue attached with
systems are introduced. The inverters are
this type of inverter. The panels are placed
also equipped with the weather monitoring
on a single plane thus do not face multiple
and censoring tools that add to the safety
directions. Although string inverters do not
of the product. VOL 2 l ISSUE 11 | SAUR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL
31 JULY 2018