What is a Hybrid Inverter?
Are you confused with the technical terms and the differences between Inverter and Hybrid Inverter? Here in this blog, we are going to explain to you what is hybrid inverter? different types of hybrid inverters, difference between inverter and hybrid inverter and its advantageous over conventional inverters that power your home appliances.
Once you understand these things it will be easy for you to buy hybrid inverter system for your home or office building as per your need.
Introduction To Hybrid Inverter
A hybrid inverter is an off-grid power supply unit that employs both solar and battery storage. It has all of the functionality of a pure PV inverter, in addition to supplying AC power from stored energy. Pure PV inverters are designed to work with utility grid backup, not as stand-alone systems; they don’t know how to store energy when there’s no sun, so they can’t be used with batteries.
The hybrid inverters solve that problem by incorporating some sort of intelligence—usually a microprocessor—that allows them to operate independently. This makes hybrid inverters very useful for remote locations where access to utility grids isn’t available, or for situations where you want your system to provide electricity even during extended periods without sunlight (for example, if you have a large battery bank).
Differences Between Hybrid, Intelligent and Smart Inverters
There are three main types of hybrid inverters available on today’s market:
- Hybrid Inverter,
- Intelligent Hybrid Inverter and
- Smart Hybrid Inverter
Each has their own benefits and specific usage, so it’s important to know what each does before making your purchase.
Hybrid Inverter: As you can see from its name, hybrid inverters are somewhere between smart and intelligent inverters. They offer some advantages over standard hybrid inverters, but they also lack some of their more advanced features. Hybrid inverters have become very popular recently due to their cost-effectiveness and relative ease of use; if you’re looking for an easy way to go solar without breaking the bank, hybrid might be for you.
Intelligent Hybrid Inverter: A solar power inverter that additionally links to battery storage is known as an intelligent hybrid inverter or smart grid inverter.
Smart Hybrid Inverter: When the switch is in the usual position, it has both smart and normal modes. When solar power is sufficient and available during the day, the load is immediately disconnected from the main and run on solar. When you need to run a heavy load, switch on this mode, and it operates as a normal inverter when the electricity goes out.
Various Types of Hybrid Inverters
A hybrid inverter consists of two separate inverters mounted in one box. The first inverter converts AC power from solar panels or a generator into DC power to charge batteries, while an AC-to-AC inverter changes DC power stored in batteries into clean, stable AC for use by standard household appliances and electronics.
Hybrid inverters are available in three types: grid-tied, off-grid and intelligent.
Grid-tied hybrid inverters can be used with either photovoltaic (PV) systems or generators, making them ideal for residential backup power applications.
Off-grid hybrid inverters can be used as stand-alone systems that provide electricity to remote homes and other locations without access to utility lines.
Intelligent hybrid inverters additionally links to battery storage is known as an intelligent hybrid inverter or smart grid inverter. Especially for solar photovoltaic installations, intelligent hybrid inverters are frequently used in solar power applications using renewable energy for residential consumption.
Advantages Of Hybrid Invertors
Following are the benefits of hybrid inverters.
High efficiency
Hybrid inverters have high efficiency and meet industrial standards such as ENERGY STAR, NMPRII, etc. Also they can be installed in off-grid applications and with intelligent features are highly efficient.
Hybrid inverter contains switching devices, storage devices and inductors. All these components work together and produce high efficiency. High efficiency leads to lower power losses and therefore, you can save power.
Less noise
When you switch AC voltage into DC, there is no noise produced. Hybrid inverter switches the AC and converts the voltage into DC. Therefore, there is no noise production.
Larger inverter capacity
With the increase of switching speed, the capacity of the inverter gets larger. There are large inverters that have a capacity of 10 to 25kW.
Energy saving
Inverters save energy by converting the AC voltage into DC. In a hybrid inverter, both of the voltage and current are inverted simultaneously and then stored in storage elements. Thus, you will save a lot of energy.
Advantages of Hybrid invertors over others
The hybrid inverters have high efficiency and meet industrial standards such as ENERGY STAR, NMPRII, etc. Also they can be installed in off-grid applications and with intelligent features are highly efficient.
Hybrid inverters use both pure sine wave output and modified sine wave output to supply electrical power to different loads connected to it. The pure sine wave output is used for loads that require pure sine wave power supply like computers, communication equipment etc., while modified sine wave output is used for other appliances like water heaters, air conditioners, lights etc. which can run on lower cost modified sine wave power supply without any problem.
Operating Modes of Hybrid Inverters
The hybrid inverters operate in three different modes. The operating mode changes based on grid power or solar conditions. When solar panels are generating enough electricity to meet your home’s needs, hybrid inverters can make excess electricity available to utility companies through net metering programs.
However, hybrid inverters can also help save money on utility bills when grid power is more affordable or plentiful than solar energy. Hybrid inverters switch between two main operating modes: backup and charge-and-discharge. Backup Mode: Hybrid inverters enter backup mode when they detect that there isn’t enough sunlight to generate sufficient amounts of electricity for your home’s needs.
During backup mode, hybrid inverters supply your home with as much power as possible from stored energy—either from batteries or from an attached generator—while simultaneously sending any extra electricity generated by solar panels back into the electric grid.
Hybrid Off-Grid Inverter
The hybrid inverters are also called off-grid inverters. Off-grid inverters are those that do not require connections to utility power grids and instead can operate using DC power from batteries or photovoltaic panels. These devices are specifically designed for homes that have completely autonomous or independent electrical power generation set-ups that do not require any connection to conventional utility grids.
In conclusion, solar energy is the most important source of energy which helps in saving water and provides clean energy for society. In the future, if the hybrid inverter continues to develop, then it will help in producing cheaper electricity.
The hybrid inverters are the best, if you want to save money and save energy. They are also much quieter than the traditional ones. A hybrid inverter can work for more than 20 years without any maintenance. So, if you want to enjoy a clean and quiet environment, then I suggest you buy hybrid inverter.