Difference between indigenous and Chinese-made solar inverters!
Most people who install solar systems seem to have difficulty choosing an inverter.
Some advise them to install indigenous inverters and some point them to Chinese-brand inverters.
So I thought... that the advantages and disadvantages of both types of inverters should be clarified...
So that you can then decide accordingly which inverter to use.
© Indigenous Inverter
. Advantages:
Its most impressive advantage is its cheapness.
These are 4-6 times cheaper than Chinese-branded inverters.
. In case of fault/defect, its spare parts are easily available.
. Disadvantages:
1. Only solar panels can be connected to it.
2. Its output voltage is not pure sine wave. (Most)
3. Their power factor is more lagging, that is, less than 0.80 is obtained.
3. Losses in DC voltage to AC voltage inversion/conversion are around 12 to 15 percent.
4. Along with this, there is no option of battery and WAPDA connection/sharing and it trips when the load exceeds the input in any weather change i.e. cloud, fog, smog etc.
5. A separate UPS has to be arranged to deal with load shedding in the evening hours.
6. Sensitive devices like computers and cameras etc. face difficulties in running due to lack of pure sine wave.
7. There is no option of parallel operation of two or more inverters.
8. Their life is short, warranty, customer service center etc. are associated with problems.
9. A major drawback of indigenous inverters is the lack of any kind of electrical safety features like surge protection, under/over voltage, over current and short circuit protection etc.
©China Inverter
.Advantages:
1.In addition to solar panels, battery, WAPDA and generator supply are also input source options in some models.
2.Most modern inverters are now available with two AC output voltage (small and heavy load) options.
3.Their AC output voltage is pure sine wave, the power factor is also above 0.9 and in some inverters it is close to 1.
4.The losses in DC to AC voltage inversion/conversion are up to 2-7%.
5.Battery and WAPDA sharing (hybrid inverter) option makes it easy to manage the load in seasonal variations. And no separate UPS is required to deal with load shedding at night.
6. They have the option of parallel operation of 2 or more inverters.
7. Net metering option is available in most inverters to send excess power back to WAPDA.
8. According to the needs of the customer / user, most modern inverters are equipped with online / internet operation and monitoring and modern smart options.
9. Available in different IP ratings for use in different environments.
10. Most branded inverters provide 3-5 years warranty, online and offline customer support and service center facilities.
11. These inverters are equipped with basic electrical safety features.
. Disadvantages:
The biggest disadvantage of these inverters is that they are 4 to 6 times more expensive than indigenous inverters. Their spare parts are expensive.
