How to Convert The Current Home Inverter Into a Solar Inverter
When there is a huge interest in the utility scale grid connected solar power systems, rooftop systems are similarly drawing attention and the nation has nearly 43MW of rooftop systems attached to the grid.
Solar PV systems are much more appealing because of the fact that these systems have the capacity of reducing transmission and distribution losses and reducing the extra burden of laying the T&D infrastructure. Connecting rooftop solar photovoltaic systems to the grid is a big challenge, particularly the systems which are in kW capacity; the utilities experience big challenge in terms of tackling the unstable electricity sources at distributed level.
When the cost of PV system has come down hugely, rooftop systems offer altogether a new market to the urban homeowners who as of now have an inverter and battery storage systems as a backup source during the grid unavailability.
Many Indian homes are not getting electricity availability because of grid unavailability and need to install inverters that charge batteries from the mains and utilise the similar electricity amid the period of unavailability of the grid.
Usually, the grid supply is not available from 30% to 50% of the time in small towns and even the condition in villages is worse where the supply of electricity is done for a period of just 8 hours in a day. Sometimes the grid supply is not even sufficient for charging these inverters for giving uninterrupted power supply.
When under the charging mode, these inverters create extra peak demand which at times creates the load relief portion undertaken by the utility as inappropriate. Integrating solar PV with these existing home inverter systems can give relief to the homes for extra charging option aside from normal grid charging of the storage batteries and thus will also lessen the system peak that makes another set of issues to the utilities.
In any case of non-requirement of solar electricity at the homes, this additional electricity can be fed back to the grid also.
Some leading solar inverter manufacturers help you convert your existing home inverter into a solar inverter that can charge the existing battery via solar panels also.
The householder needs to install the converter alongside the existing inverter that also acts as a battery charge controller and plugs the load output control system and the AC mains altogether.