Switching inverters vs coil-based inverters

Summary

Over the past decade inverter technology in the renewable energy sector has made strides. Currently the most common types of inverters include both coil-based and switching inverters. Both have their uses and benefits when compared against each other.

Comparison between coil and switching Inverters

What is a coil-based inverter? As the name suggests a coil-based inverter utilises coils to invert a DC signal to an AC signal and visa versa.

What is a switching inverter? Switching inverters use electronic components such as transistors or thyristors to invert from DC to AC.

Inverters utilise different techniques to get the same result, however, there are some differences that should be noted. Coil based inverters are the older technology of the two mentioned above. Their ability to deal with high in-rush current effectively makes them a great choice if the application demands it. Switching inverters are a newer technology. The components used to create these are often cheaper that coil inverters insuring a cheaper product. Switching inverters are also more efficient than coil-based inverters since there are fewer losses in the inverting process, meaning with a switching inverter the demand of power drawn from the storage of the system is a lot closer to the required output supply from the inverter to the loads. Coil-based inverters will pull a lot more power from the storage devices in order to supply the required power to the loads

Applications

Currently switching inverters are the more popular option. There high efficiency and low price makes them lucrative for an end user trying to power their house or for a backup system in case of loadshedding.

Coil-based inverters remain the best choice for Industry. The starting of many of the systems in a plant require a lot of current initially to get the “gears turning”; this spike doesn’t last for long as the power used by the plant drops back down to its running power consumption rating. This sudden spike is known as in-rush current. Coil Inverters can deal with this in-rush current effectively without disrupting the plant’s (or the inverter’s) operation because of the nature of magnetic fields in the coil of the inverter.

In conclusion,

Selecting between the types of inverters is application specific. Each type of inverter has its own set of advantages and disadvantages that must be considered before a choice between them should be made. The site at which these will be installed will have the final say as to what is required. REVOV batteries have been tried and tested with both coil based and switching type inverters, offering a comprehensive and reliable solution for storage in a backup system.