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| Sukam Inverter courtesy Google Photo |
Inverters are expensive to procure so owning one requires utmost care and caution in preserving and maintaining its functionality. The importance of an inverter in a solar system setup cannot be over-emphasized as it performs the most important function, an integral process in the cog of the wheel.
In this article, we will be throwing more light on three avoidable mistakes that could easily damage your inverter and render it nonrepairable or need extensive repair to correct the defect, these mistakes could either come from the end user, through a faulty installation process or by peradventure circumstance beyond human control. So sit back and read through to gain necessary insights on preventing costly damages to your priceless inverter.
Let's look at the three costly mistakes that can completely ruin your inverter and either make it nonrepairable or require costly repairs, these mistakes include Overloading, Faulty connection, and lightning. Let's look at them in bits and break them up for simple understanding, read on!
OVERLOADING
Inverters are so susceptible to overloading as it is easily the biggest killer, in simple terms overloading simply implies loading your inverter beyond its designed capacity, yes this is the first and foremost killer of an inverter. As a rule of thumb when it comes to solar and inverter system design and maintenance for optimal efficiency you are expected to load your inverter at max 50% this is to say that if you run a 2kva inverter your load should never exceed 800 watts at every point in time if we are to take account of 25 to 30% safety margin.
Loading your inverter correctly also requires using the right and specified inverter-friendly appliances at all times as well, its imperative to note that certain home applications are not suitable for inverter usage an example is air-conditioning systems there are regular air-conditioned and now available inverter air conditions ruining an inverter air condition on your inverter system would help reduce load and enhance the performance of your inverter compared to your regular air conditioning system.
Another examples are thermal devices eg electric irons, heaters, and so on these devices are not inverter friendly given their design and functionality and if they are continually used on your inverter would lead to gradual damage even if the said inverter can power such load.
The conclusion to this is that you load your inverter at max 30% to get its best functionality and adequate battery management because, after all, everything depends on your batteries in the long run.
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| Inverter repair courtesy of Google Photo |
FAULTY CONNECTION
One other of damaging your inverter is through faulty connections and this comes majorly with wrongly done installations and in some cases faulty connections within the circuit or home. we take this aspect but by bit for easier understanding and prevention. wrongly done installation involves setting your inverter load separation the wrong way where the inverter load feeds back to the inverter through its designated source, this has the tendency to damage the inverter board comprising of resistors and mosphets.
Another way wrong installation can be your inverter's undoing is by not properly separating the load from the distribution board and thereby causing a total malfunction of the system, the best way to avoid this is by engaging competent technicians to handle your installation when the need arises.
Faulty connections within the circuit imply bridge wires within the inverter load or perhaps using a faulty appliance on your inverter, this can easily trigger your inverter warning lights or possibly shut it down completely to save yourself all the hassles associated with this it's best you only functional appliances on your inverter and ensure that there are no loose wires or connections here and there.
EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING
Lightning can be devastatingly destructive to inverters if the right protective devices are not installed during the initial setup. Lighting damages your inverter board and all its components not sparing the transformer if it's actually a transformer-based inverter.
How Does This Happen?
Ok to answer the simple question, when there's an occurrence of lightning because your solar panels are receptive devices they absorb the high voltage generated by the lightning and transfer it through the batteries via the charge controller, this high voltage finds its way through to the inverter from the batteries there causing significant damage to the inverter are we make some sense here?
How Do I Prevent This?
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| Ac/DC brakers courtesy Google Photo |
Preventing this is simple and straight to the point, it entails installing a DC breaker on the circuit that leads to the charge controller from the panels this would cut off in the event of sensing high and unusual voltage from the solar panels most likely in the event where there's lightning, this would help to keep the inverter and there an entire system in shape.
CONCLUSION
Inverter care requires precision and proper understanding to achieve the best optimal performance and device longevity that you so crave, there are other minute causes of inverter damage but in our years of onfield experience as solartricians, we have figured out these three causes as the major mistakes that easily damage inverters and so adhering strictly to all the above mentioned cause both during installation and eventual use will keep your inverter running for many years.
What We do:
We are specialists in the design, installation, and maintenance of solar and inverter systems of different capacities, we are open for consultations and energy audits as well. We are reachable on 09014789126 WhatsApp and phone calls, Do you have an existing solar and inverter system that is problematic please feel free to reach us today.