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Micro Inverters
Real Goods’ Erik Frye explains the purpose of a micro inverter in a photovoltaic system. A micro inverter converts the DC electricity generated by a solar panel into the 110-Volt AC electricity our household appliances use.
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MargoOctober 8, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Do the micro inverters run off of DC or AC power? I am interested in having a grid-tied system, but I want to be able to use the solar energy when the power goes out. It seems inverters require AC. I was wondering if the micro inverters run off DC, which would allow me to get power from the panels when the grid is down?
Thank you!
Sean ConnollyNovember 15, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Yes, micro-inverters run off DC power, but DC from panels, not batteries, and do not store power themselves. Inverters do require AC only in the sense that, if we’re talking about typical “grid-tied” inverters, they’ll shut down without grid power. But by definition, inverters change DC current to AC current. So micro-inverters do run off DC, but not the DC from batteries, which you would need to store any power for use when the grid is down.
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