Inverters - Critical Photovoltaic Balance-of-System Components: Status, Issues Perspectives, and New-Millennium Opportunities
- Sandia National Laboratories
The balance-of-system (BOS) of a photovoltaic installation includes the array structure, trackers, ac and dc wiring, overcur-rent protection, disconnects, interconnects, inverters, charge controllers, energy storage and system controllers. The inverter (sometimes called power-conditioning subsystem (PCS), power conditioner or static power converter) is the key electrical power-handling component of a photovoltaic (PV) power system that has, ac loads. This paper will focus on the inverter and its related functions as the critical electrical BOS element in photovoltaic systems. An evolutionary summary for inverter hardware development, primarily in the US, will shed light on the paths that have been taken to arrive at today's state-of-the-technology. Recent developments, integrated packaging and opportunities for practical technology and hardware advancements will be presented. This paper will also touch on elementary battery issues as they relate to inverters and their control functions. Batteries are also critical, but often misunderstood, BOS components in stand- alone systems.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 7452
- Report Number(s):
- SAND99-1431J; ON: DE00007452
- Journal Information:
- Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Journal Name: Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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