rin67630
Solar Enthusiast
LEDs work at best on DC.I have several LEDs that will not work at all on MSW.
LEDs work at best on DC.I have several LEDs that will not work at all on MSW.
And even better yet on low voltage DC unless one is stringing them in series. Even then the voltages are low and often current limited.LEDs work at best on DC.
You are correct. But my hybrid sine wave inverter has all the bells and whistles to allow me to leverage my TOU rates and self consume as much as I can. My GT inverter allows me to sell back what i don't consume so I can use the grid as a battery. It is not perfect, but as a system it is reasonably cost effective.We use high tech electronics to produce -under considerable losses- from DC the perfect AC sine wave, that will be fed into a high tech power supply that will use considerable technological tricks to compensate the inconveniences of a sinusoidal waveform on rectifiers to produce... DC.
Grid-tied is of course a different story. It is the best battery, excepted where it is not available....You are correct. But my hybrid sine wave inverter has all the bells and whistles to allow me to leverage my TOU rates and self consume as much as I can. My GT inverter allows me to sell back what i don't consume so I can use the grid as a battery. It is not perfect, but as a system it is reasonably cost effective.
DC-DC conversion is easy and efficient.But unless you go to 120V/240V or more DC, you have losses in transmission in your house wiring, or very expensive wiring. Then you have to convert this higher voltage DC, with considerable losses and through considerable technological tricks to a low voltage DC for your computer, LEDs, etc.
It happens to be the story that most people live with. As I said earlier this is a theoretical academic discussion that has very little relevance to most people on the grid. It should be in the Danger Zone ( Advance Users Only) section of the Forum. I don't think many Off Grid users give a hoot.Grid-tied is of course a different story.
Grid-tied is of course a different story. It is the best battery, excepted where it is not available....
And your EV stores energy in DC just because no engineer has yet found a way to store AC energy.
Thanks for that reminder (and the warning LOL). As you mention pumped storage it is not just in lakes or reservoirs either. Germany is utilizing some abandoned coal mines for pumped storage.E=MC² means energy is actually only stored within mass and velocity,.....
They're even developing automated cranes now that lift and stack giant concrete Lego blocks. When excess power is available, the crane lifts and stacks blocks.. when power is needed, it grabs a block from the top and lets gravity generate energy as the block is lowered.Thanks for that reminder (and the warning LOL). As you mention pumped storage it is not just in lakes or reservoirs either. Germany is utilizing some abandoned coal mines for pumped storage.
You are right: most power supplies labelled 100v-240V AC will perfectly run on 130V DC.You could also ask, what really requires an inverter?
Yep, I agree 100%. Most electronics (as stated by OP) turn the AC back to DC. It's WAY more simple to get a buck converter to run things off of DC directly. I use a 12 volt LiFePo4 battery bank, a lot of things take 12 volts anyway; TV, battery chargers, XBox, phone chargers, LED lighting, and modified desktop computer, will run perfectly without a DC converter.Why bother with anything other than sinewave? If one wants to save money eliminate AC and go with DC. Edison wasn't completly wrong about DC?
Do you have more pictures of the inside of that box? I'm working on something similar and would love some ideas!View attachment 48895
That distribution box provides several 12V outputs, one being radio controlled.
It has two step-up DC-DC converters one to 19V, which is the charging voltage for many laptops and my soldering iron. and one 38V which is the voltage of my LED lighting system.
One adjustable step-down DC-DC converters provides voltages between 5 and 12V to charge various devices.
On the top-hidden is a cigarette lighter socket to plug many DC driven devices.
I never charge any of my devices from mains...
Speaking from personal experience, audio equipment of all sorts require pure sine wave. It will work on modified sine wave but the resulting buzz, hum and other extraneous noise make it impossible to enjoy. Guitar amplifiers, stereo equipment, etc. For this reason I use a 12 volt radio, a 12 volt guitar amp and have a pure sine wave inverter to run the 120 volt AC stereo equipment. I don’t have a TV and use portable devices for computers, laptops, iPads and iPhone. Modified sine wave works fine for toasters and most small appliances. Some light dimmer switches won’t work with modified sine wave as well. My wife’s sewing machine will work with modified sine wave but works better on pure sine wave. Some of the very elaborate computer controlled and expensive sewing machines should probably be used only with pure sine wave as well,Pure sine inverters are expensive, but for which usage are they REALLY required?
Some will say: for powering sensitive electronics...
Did you really consider what mainly happens in >95% of today's electronics?
The AC input signal is rectified to DC before going to a DC-DC converter.
So it makes exactly NO difference if they get a pure sine or a modified sine.
Pure sine inverters are not only more expensive, they have a much higher quiescent current (no load loss) and a lower efficiency.
For which usages did you really experience that a pure sine inverter is absolutely required?
As an afterthought, pure sine wave inverters are no longer that expensive. The prices have come down dramatically from the first ones I purchased.Pure sine inverters are expensive, but for which usage are they REALLY required?
Some will say: for powering sensitive electronics...
Did you really consider what mainly happens in >95% of today's electronics?
The AC input signal is rectified to DC before going to a DC-DC converter.
So it makes exactly NO difference if they get a pure sine or a modified sine.
Pure sine inverters are not only more expensive, they have a much higher quiescent current (no load loss) and a lower efficiency.
For which usages did you really experience that a pure sine inverter is absolutely required?