Resources

PV Inverters

Learning rates (Cost reductions) for PV systems will decrease as Balance of Systems cost (including inverters) begin to dominate total installed price. Click here to read more.

-DOE Secretary Steven Chu, $/W PV Workshop slide #20 - August 2010
While solar panels have experienced extreme price pressure and falling ASPs, this trend has not impacted the inverter field. Power electronics and metals are a more mature industry and likely will not experience the same plummeting prices. Inverter prices and value could actually increase as the inverter becomes more "grid-aware" and absorbs some other system functions. While solar panels see their share of materials innovations, inverters are less likely to see disruptive change. New component technology, such as silicon carbide diodes and switches, face cost challenges despite the real potential of improved performance. Click here to read more.

- GreenTechMedia.com, GE, PV Powered, Satcon, and SMA on Utility-Scale Inverters - July 2010
Magnetics (used in inductors and transformers) is the largest, heaviest and most expensive part of PV inverters. Reducing magnetic cost, size and weight is the top priority in power electronics. Click here to view workshop presentation.

–DOE ARPA-E Program Manager, Rajeev Ram, APRA-E Power Electronics Workshop - March 2010.

AC Motor Control

The Worldwide Market for Low Voltage AC & DC Motor Drives – 2007, from The InfoShop.com, cites a study from IMS Research of this $7.6 billion dollar/year market.

Harmonic Mitigation, from Energy Management Corporation (EMC), discusses why input harmonics must be controlled, and the costs for such control with standard technology.

Low Operating Temperature: The Key to Motor Reliability, from the Pump-Zone.com, reveals that increasing motor temperature by 10 degrees Centigrade can cut motor life in half. The article below shows that standard Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) can cause a 10-deg C temperature rise.

Quote from - The Impact of Variable Frequency Drives, from Reliance Electric, a manufacturer of VFDs “Consider the potential problems-more motor noise and higher motor temperatures-when you select VFDS. Remember, though, variable-frequency drives can play important roles in systems aimed at saving energy and improving process control.”

These and other warnings about VFDs impacts on motors do not apply to IPC’s VFDs, since our VFDs apply sinusoidal voltage to the driven motor. Motors driven by our VFDs run as quietly as they do on utility power, and just as cool as when run on utility power (although as with any variable speed application, reduced motor fan speed as the motor slows down must be offset by lower motor current, or an constant speed motor fan must be used).

Problems Encountered With Variable Frequency Drives, from Power Quality and Drives, LLC, is a course outline on this subject. Again, all problems mentioned do not apply to IPC’s VFDs.

“IPC’s inverter offers an architecture that we believe will become a standard for commercial scale rooftop systems, the largest segment of the US solar market.”

- Roger Jennings, General Manager, Texas Solar Power Company.

“IPC’s current-modulation electronic power converter topology improves cost, efficiency, and reliability. It is one of the most significant advances in power electronics in decades, which is critically required for the clean-energy industry.”

– Dr. Hamid Toliyat, Professor and Director of Electric Machines & Power Electronics Lab, Texas A&M University