{"id":63255,"date":"2022-07-14T12:59:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T02:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=63255"},"modified":"2022-07-16T13:17:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-16T02:47:04","slug":"solar-inverter-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-inverter-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is It Called An Inverter? A Brief History Of Solar Inverters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"History<\/p>\n

Over the past 100 years, many electrical and electronic devices have changed our lives and raised our living standards. One of these is the solar inverter – and in particular the grid-tied solar inverter.<\/p>\n

In this article, I’ll tell you about the history of this device and how it has changed over time. Along the way, we\u2019ll even find out why it is called an ‘inverter’.<\/p>\n

Inverters Are PCE: Power Conversion Equipment<\/h2>\n

The modern solar inverter, in its simplest form, is a power converter. It converts DC power produced by solar panels into AC power for the appliances we use in our homes. But the first power converters did the opposite: they took AC power and converted it to DC.<\/p>\n

\"Westinghouse

500kW Westinghouse rotary converter<\/p><\/div>\n

Charles S. Bradley invented the rotary converter in 1888. At the time most appliances and machinery operated on DC power, but AC transmission was quickly becoming dominant. There was a pressing need to convert the transmitted AC power into DC that the appliances could use.<\/p>\n

Rotary converters and also motor-generator sets did this job from the late nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. Now when we talk about power converters like this – that convert AC to DC – we usually just call them ‘rectifiers’.<\/p>\n

Where Does The Name \u2018Inverter\u2019 Come From?<\/h2>\n

The first known use of the term \u201cinverter\u201d was in 1925 by engineer David Prince. He published an article in the GE Review<\/a> in\u00a0which he wrote:<\/p>\n

“the author took the rectifier circuit and inverted it, turning in direct current at one end and drawing out alternating current at the other”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, a solar inverter is called an inverter because it reverses, or ‘inverts’ a rectifier\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n

From Mechanical To Electronic<\/h2>\n

By the 1950s inverters moved from being mechanical devices to ones with solid-state circuits. This was made possible by the dawn of a new field of engineering called ‘power electronics’.<\/p>\n

Regular electronics were dominated by the humble transistor, which had insufficient voltage and current ratings for most inverter applications. Power electronics used a type of high-power transistor called a thyristor or SCR (silicon-controlled rectifier).<\/p>\n

In 1953 German company Kaco manufactured the world\u2019s first thyristor inverter. Years later Kaco would go on to produce the first transformerless inverter.<\/p>\n

Transformerless Inverters<\/h2>\n

In 1999 a handful of “idealists” clambered onto the rooftops of homes in Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg to install solar PV systems. Accompanying them was the world’s first transformerless string solar inverter, the Kaco Blue Planet PVI 2600.<\/p>\n

\"Kaco

Solar inverter evolution: Today’s blueplanet 10.0 TL3 (left) has four times more power than the PVI 2600 20 years ago, but is the same size. Image: Kaco<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The introduction of transformerless inverters in 1999 brought with it many advantages – being more efficient, lighter and cheaper to manufacture. The main drawback however was the lack of galvanic isolation between the DC and AC circuits, which could potentially allow the passage of dangerous DC faults to the AC side.<\/p>\n

Galvanic isolation (provided by a transformer) separates the input and output supplies to a device so that energy flows through a field rather than via electrical connections. It enables power transfer between two circuits without being electrically connected.<\/p>\n

Transformerless solar inverters created more than a few headaches for electricity network providers and resulted in another rewrite for industry standards associations around the world.<\/p>\n

Microinverters<\/h2>\n

In June 2008 Californian company Enphase introduced their first microinverter<\/a>1<\/a><\/sup>. It was about the size of a paperback book and was going to flip the solar industry on its head. So far that hasn\u2019t happened.<\/p>\n

The concept is a great idea because it sits underneath each solar panel and allows each panel in an array to operate independently of one another. In the event of one or multiple panels reducing output due to shading or failure, the rest of the array will keep chugging along nicely. This is not the case with a single series string of solar panels feeding a string inverter.<\/p>\n

\"Original

The first Enphase Microinverter<\/p><\/div>\n

Other advantages are numerous. They include panel level optimisation and monitoring, safer due to lower DC voltage and no DC cabling in roof space, panels can be oriented in different directions, simpler to design, panel model agnostic, easier PV array expansion and much longer inverter warranties.<\/p>\n

The reason this technology hasn\u2019t taken over the world is cost. They are expensive, complex to install and may have higher maintenance costs due to the amount of hardware on the roof.<\/p>\n

So, microinverters vs string inverters, which is best? There\u2019s no definitive answer.<\/p>\n

New Kid On The Block – Hybrid Inverters<\/h2>\n

Hybrid inverters<\/a> have been around for a while but are starting to gain some serious attention due to the increasing uptake of home battery systems.<\/p>\n

These inverters are sophisticated, intelligent beasts that can simultaneously manage inputs from solar panels, a battery bank and utility grid using a technique called DC coupling (along with more than a few other bells and whistles).<\/p>\n

The hybrid inverter’s brain can decide where to draw energy from, when and how to do it. It can make decisions based on the price of electricity at any given time, and even draw energy from the grid to store in the battery if that\u2019s economical.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re likely to see more of these inverters from now on due to the growing realisation around the world of the importance of embracing technologies that will deliver net zero carbon emissions. Right now that means three things – batteries, batteries and more batteries.<\/p>\n

Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPT)<\/h2>\n

Arguably the holy grail of the modern PV solar inverter is the maximum power point tracker. Since 1954 when Bell Labs demonstrated the first practical silicon solar cell, researchers have been searching for the greatest efficiency available, aiming to continually improve the performance of a solar power system.<\/p>\n

Maximum power point tracking finds the perfect sweet spot of voltage and current to maximize energy extraction from a string of solar panels in real time as conditions vary. This is particularity important in PV systems because output power from solar cells depends on the amount of available sunlight, shading, solar panel temperature and the load’s electrical characteristics.<\/p>\n

All this good stuff happens inside the solar inverter so we don\u2019t have to worry about it. But if you do want to worry about it – Finn explains how MPPT works here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MPPTs are still being developed and improved in an ongoing quest to make solar inverters as efficient as possible.<\/p>\n

Mass Production Of PV Solar Inverters<\/h2>\n

In 1991 German company SMA<\/a> made their first solar product – the PV-WR 1800 inverter. It was a niche product and didn\u2019t exactly fly off the shelves. A few years later in 1995 the Sunny Boy 700 was produced with this sales pitch from SMA:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology, which is applied for the first time in the Sunny Boy 700, makes it much easier to install PV systems, enabling even electrical installers to assemble the systems safely.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As an ex-solar-installer, I\u2019ll try not to take offence. Maybe such insults from SMA are the real reason Fronius<\/a> solar inverters are so popular with installers.<\/p>\n

Just kidding SMA – we love you too. Especially since you got rid of Zeversolar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> How To Choose A Good Solar Inverter<\/a> | The Best Solar Inverters In 2022<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past 100 years, many electrical and electronic devices have changed our lives and raised our living standards. One of these is the solar inverter – and in particular the grid-tied solar inverter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":63425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-inverters","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is It Called An Inverter? 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He enjoys translating complex aspects of the solar industry into content that the layperson can understand and digest. He spends his time reading about renewable energy and sustainability, while simultaneously juggling teaching and performing guitar music around various parts of Australia. Read Kim's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/kimwainwright\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-inverter-history.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-gsf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4228,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/micro-inverters-battery-backup-compatible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":0},"title":"Are micro inverters & battery backup compatible?","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"November 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Can you use a micro inverter off grid? Or even for grid connect with batteries? With the growth in the use of micro inverters, I'm starting to get more and more emails asking: can micro inverters be used in off grid (or hybrid) solar power systems? The short answer is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Battery Storage"","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"3 microinverters and 2 batteries","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/microinverters-battery-backup.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/microinverters-battery-backup.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/microinverters-battery-backup.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-solar-grid-connect-inverters\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":1},"title":"Everything You Need To Know About Solar (Grid Connect) Inverters","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"November 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A detailed look (in plain English!) at how inverters work. Learn how a solar grid connected inverter performs its crucial functions of: Converting DC to AC, transforming the voltage, keeping you safe, exporting to the grid and last, but not least maximising the power from your panels.","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Inverters"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Inverters","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-inverters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Inverter Circuit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/inverter_circuit.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7449,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/goodwe-bp\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":2},"title":"Goodwe’s GW2500-BP DC Converter: The Cheapest Way To Retrofit Batteries?","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"September 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you own a solar system and want to add batteries then, in theory, the cheapest way to do this is to simply\u00a0plug your batteries into your existing solar inverter. The solar inverter can then convert the batteries' DC power into AC power, just like it does for your solar.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Battery Storage"","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"goodwe bp","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/goodwe-bp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/goodwe-bp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/goodwe-bp.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48930,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/delta-hybrid-inverter-mb1936\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":3},"title":"New Delta Inverters Also Hybrid –\u00a0 At No Extra Cost","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When Delta Electronics told us about their new H8E and H10E single-phase solar inverters late last year, they didn't mention a \"secret\" feature. The company has revealed it to SolarQuotes, along with details of a new Delta battery and other bits. In December last year we mentioned some of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Delta Hybrid H8E and H10E inverters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/delta-hybrid-inverter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/delta-hybrid-inverter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/delta-hybrid-inverter.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/delta-hybrid-inverter.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/delta-hybrid-inverter.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49343,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/installer-string-micro-inverter-mb1956\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":4},"title":"Solar Installer Shuns String Inverters, Switches To Microinverters","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"April 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Citing safety, simplicity, support and performance reasons, NSW's Penrith Solar has bid farewell to string inverters and is now only installing solar power systems with microinverters. A solar inverter is the real workhorse of a solar power system - all the electricity generated by the system's solar panels is routed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Enphase microinverter - Penrith Solar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/penrith-solar-microinverters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/penrith-solar-microinverters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/penrith-solar-microinverters.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/penrith-solar-microinverters.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/penrith-solar-microinverters.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71053,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-inverter-life-expectancy-mb2825\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":5},"title":"What’s The Life Expectancy Of A Solar Inverter?","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Researchers in Switzerland have been keeping an eye on a bunch of old solar inverters and power optimizers to see how they are faring; with some interesting results. Solar panels tend to steal the limelight, but the real workhorse of a PV system is the solar inverter. This device takes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar inverter service life","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/solar-inverter-life-expectancy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/solar-inverter-life-expectancy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/solar-inverter-life-expectancy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/solar-inverter-life-expectancy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/solar-inverter-life-expectancy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63255"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63488,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63255\/revisions\/63488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}