3 Important Factors That Determine Solar Inverter Price

Solar inverter price is one of the most important factors that comes to everyone’s mind when they first think about going solar. In fact, the lack of clarity often leads to people procrastinating the transition. Some, even drop the idea because of the lack of clarity. If you too have been thinking of switching to a solar inverter system, but are unsure of how much the transition’s going to cost you then this post will definitely help. In this post, we talk about the three important factors that will help you determine the cost of installing a solar inverter system. Let’s read on.

• Load Requirement

The load requirement has a direct impact on the cost of the solar inverter price. Higher the load requirement, higher the price of the required solar inverter system. And just to let you know, the price difference can be substantial. It completely depends on what your load requirement is. Let us try and understand this with an example.

Let’s say there are two residential properties A and B. 

During a power outage, Property A needs power to run basic electrical equipment such as fans, tubes,LED bulbs.

On the other hand Property B needs power to run heavy load equipment such as air conditioners, microwave, geysers, etc; in addition to the above mentioned basic electrical equipment.

Since Property B’s power consumption is far more than that of property A, it would need 

1. A higher capacity solar inverter
2. More number of solar panels
3. More batteries

All this adds to the cost of the solar inverter system as a whole.  

Note - If you want to find your load requirement and the right inverter and battery capacity required to run that load, use Luminous India’s load calculator. 

• Inverter Type (On Grid/ Off Grid)

Off Grid inverters are more expensive as compared to on grid inverters. Here’s why.

As you would know households with On Grid (also known as Grid-Tied) inverters are connected to the local grid. That’s because they do not rely solely on solar panels for power generation. Whenever there’s a power deficit because of less power produced by the solar panel system, these households draw energy from the local grid. On the other hand, households with off grid inverters have no connection to the local grid and they solely rely on the solar panels for power generation. 

Now the question arises - How does a household with an off-grid inverter manage on days when the solar panels are unable to generate the required power because of external factors such as a cloudy day or an extremely hot day? 

Well, the answer to this is that households with off-grid inverter systems use batteries to store excess energy produced by the solar panels. So on a normal day when the solar panels generate power (in excess of what the household requires) it gets stored in these batteries. An on-grid inverter, on the other hand transfers the excess power to the local grid and the same is adjusted in the electricity bills.

That explains why off-grid inverter systems are more expensive. That’s because they use batteries which adds to the cost of the entire system. Also, there’s a replacement cost involved depending on the longevity of the batteries. 

Note - Off-grid inverters are ideal for areas where there’s no local grid or those areas where there are frequent and long power cuts.  

• Technology (MPPT / PWM)

There are two types of solar inverter controller technologies available in the market - 

PWM - Pulse Width Modulation

MPPT - Maximum Power Point Tracking

MPPT solar controllers are more expensive than PWM solar controllers. That’s because MPPT solar controllers are more efficient as compared to PWM solar controllers. Let us read about the working of both these technologies to find out why the price difference.

The main job of a solar charge controller is to prevent the batteries from overcharging. It does so by modulating the current amperage/voltage that moves from the solar panels to the batteries. 

The PWM solar charge controller works like a basic electric switch that simply ensures that the voltage of the solar array is equal to the battery’s voltage. In case the battery voltage is less than the solar array’s voltage, the PWM controller brings down the solar array’s voltage to match with the battery’s voltage. (Note - There is no modulation in output current). This leads to wastage of power as the solar panel with a higher power producing capacity is forced to work at a lower voltage. 

On the other hand, the MPPT controller ensures that the solar arrays deliver maximum power. It does so by tracking the solar panel voltage and current in real time. It draws maximum power from the solar arrays and then works as a modulator that varies its output voltage to match that of the battery. And in case the voltage needs to be stepped down, the current outflow is increased to ensure maximum power output and a faster battery charging. 

Note - Solar inverters or controllers with MPPT technology are ideal for commercial establishments or households with heavy power requirements. A household with a basic power requirement can also go with a PWM solar controller.

Always Go with a Reputable Brand

Solar inverter purchase is a one investment, and therefore, it is recommended to go with a reputable brand than choose a solar inverter brand that offers low solar inverter prices. And therefore, our suggestion to you would be to check out the wide range of solar inverters and other solar products that Luminous India has to offer. They are one of the most trusted solar brands in India and have the reputation of being one of the pioneers in the solar products industry.