Record Efficiency Solar Inverter Could Mean 30% Cheaper Solar
By Philip Proefrock
Inverters are used not only in solar panel installations but also for wind turbines and other sustainable power generating systems that generate DC power. The inverter converts the power from DC to AC so that it can be used in standard household circuits. (Some homes, mostly completely off-the-grid cabins and the like, do not convert the power to AC, and are equipped entirely with lights, appliances and equipment that works directly off DC current, but those are a tiny minority). A new inverter developed by engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute achieved an efficiency rating of 98.5 percent. The more efficient the inverter, the less energy is lost in the conversion.
"Fraunhofer researchers succeeded in reducing the power dissipation of conventional inverters by 30 to 50 percent when compared with results obtained with traditional silicon-based transistors."
So, while increasing the efficiency of the photovoltaic material itself is probably the more exciting direction for improving efficiency, inverters that lose less of the energy as it is usefully delivered are also a development that will help.
via: Solar News Archive
