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Forum Index : Solar : Solar experiment

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Warpspeed
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Joined: 09/08/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 4406
Posted: 01:16am 23 Jan 2018
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This is the basic idea:



You connect up some solar panels to provide a suitable system voltage range, preferably reasonably high for best electrical efficiency.

The inverter is made so it can run directly from the solar panel voltage, right up to the full open circuit solar panel voltage. It will need a suitably large capacitor bank so the inverter can draw its 100Hz pulsing current, while the solar panels supply a steady dc current into the capacitor bank.
Grid tie inverters work like this, so its nothing really new.

At some voltage slightly less than the solar panel maximum power voltage, an alternative reliable source of power must be provided to run the inverter at night, or when there are heavy day time peak loads in very cloudy weather.

The solar panel voltage cannot be pulled right down below its mppt voltage, so no solar controller is required. The inverter itself does all the voltage regulating.

Its the simplest possible system.
Its efficient because it can all be run at high voltage with low relative current.

Two main disadvantages. The inverter very likely needs to operate over a rather odd voltage range, but if you are home brewing, its just as easy to wind a transformer primary for one voltage as for another.

The second disadvantage is a higher voltage battery will be required, and that requires more cell monitoring, and maybe more frequent maintenance.

The battery could be replaced with a dc rectifier. Again some odd voltages may be involved and some tricks with transformers may be required, but its not complicated.




Cheers,  Tony.
 
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