Mlt
2KVA inverter
Testimonials.
In
the end, it is what our customers say that really matters.
Here are the comments of some of them:
Johnny
Hanekom, Keetmanshoop, Namibia: The two (2) machines
that I've bought, exceed all my expectatoins as far as
power generation is concerned. I am really pleased with
their performance, and I am planning to buy the third
unit.
Johnny
van der Linde, Groblershoop: We are retired on our
farm outside Groblershoop, and have always experienced
a shortage of electricity from the solar panels we had.
With our Winglette wind generator now installed, we are
seeking ways to utilize the abandance of power thats available
now!
Nico
Grobler, East Coast, Mozambique: We have a holiday
home near Vilancuro, and are well please with our Winglette.
Being a pilot for the South Africa Air ways, I just love
the Winglette's modern technology and good looks! |
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————DC/AC
Inverters...
The
inverter is one of the most important, and most complex components of an off-grid Winglette wind generating system. Luckily, you don't have to understand
the inner workings of an inverter, but you should understand
some basic functions, capabilities and limitations.
Why
you need an inverter...?
The inverter converts the DC of your battery bank, to AC. It also
changes the voltage from the 36 or 48Volts of the batteries,
to 240Volts alternating current required by your appliances.
In other words, it is a power adapter. It can allow a battery-based
independent power system, to run conventional appliances through
conventional home wiring.
There
are many ways to use DC power directly, but it applications
for a normal house hold, are very limiting. For any normal situation, you will need an inverter for almost
all the devices that use electricity as power source.
Power
quality:
Some
inverters produce "cleaner" power than others. Sine
wave inverters produces a smoothly alternating
AC wave form. It can be equivalent (or superior) to grid power
but is relatively expensive. We recommend that you do
not try to save cost by buying modifies sine wave inverters, for applications of a normal house hold.
Efficiency
of an inverter varies with the load. Typically, it will be highest
at about 2/3 of the inverter's capacity. This is called its
"peak efficiency". The inverter requires some power just to
run itself, so the efficiency of a large inverter may be low
when running very small loads.
In a typical home, there are many hours of the day when electrical
load is very low. Under these conditions, an inverter's efficiency
may be around 50% or far lower. Because
the efficiency varies with load, don't assume that an inverter
with 93% peak efficiency is better than one with 85% peak efficiency.
The 85% efficient unit may be more efficient at low power level.
Study
the "efficiency curve" of the supplier, may help you some, in
choosing a well designed inverter.,
Sizing
an Inverter:
The
sizing of Inverters has very much to do with the maximum
load that one wants to draw at any give time, as
well at the startup surges that
might occure, utilizing different appliances.
Powering a water pump at a remote site, for an example, is often
a large electrical load. It warrants special consideration for
several reasons.
- Most pumps draw a very high surge of current during startup.
The inverter must have sufficient surge capacity to handle
it while running any other loads that may be on.
- Most pumps are used for automatic pressurizing. In that case,
the pump will start unexpectedly, several times per day.
- Most pumps (especially submersibles) run on 230 volt power,
while smaller appliances and lights use the 115 volt standard.
- AC water pumps are not very energy-efficient. The power system
(as well as the inverter) may need to be substantially larger
to handle the load.
It
is, therefore, important to size an
inverter properly, especially to handle the starting
surge. Have a look at our
notes on Battery & Inverter
sizing.
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