Hybrid Inverters: Powerful Assistants in Industrial and Commercial Energy Systems

1. Successful application cases

 Case 1: Energy-saving transformation of a large factory

At a large electronics manufacturing factory in the south, the monthly electricity bill used to be a significant expense. Later, the factory installed a large number of solar panels on the factory roof and several small wind turbines in the open area of the factory and introduced a hybrid inverter. During the day when the sun is strong, the direct current generated by the solar panels is converted into alternating current through the hybrid inverter for the factory’s equipment to use. Excess electricity is stored or fed into the grid to obtain benefits. When there is wind blowing, the wind turbine operates to generate electricity. The hybrid inverter automatically adjusts the input of the two energies to ensure a continuous and stable power supply. After a period of operation, the factory’s electricity cost has been reduced by nearly 40%. Not only has the expense been saved, but also due to the use of clean energy, carbon emissions have been reduced, and the factory has received praise and support from the local government.

 Case 2: Energy optimization of a commercial center

A large commercial center integrates shopping, dining, and entertainment and has a huge electricity consumption. The commercial center installed a hybrid inverter system that integrates roof solar energy and surrounding small wind power generation. During the peak shopping period during the day, when there is sufficient sunlight, solar power generation, combined with energy storage batteries, supplies power through the hybrid inverter, meeting the electricity needs of most lighting and elevators. At night, the wind is relatively stronger. Wind power generation plus the discharge of energy storage batteries continues to provide power for some areas of the commercial center such as parking lots and emergency passage lighting. Through the intelligent allocation of the hybrid inverter, the energy cost of the commercial center has been reduced by about 35%. At the same time, it has enhanced its own environmental protection image and attracted more consumers.

1. Application trends

 (I) Improvement in technical performance

1. Higher efficiency

In the future, hybrid inverters will continuously make breakthroughs in energy conversion efficiency. New materials and technologies will be applied to inverters. For example, using better semiconductor materials can reduce the loss of electrical energy during the conversion process. In this way, the electrical energy converted from solar and wind energy can be utilized more, saving more energy costs for industry and commerce. Taking a medium-sized enterprise as an example, if a new generation of high-efficiency hybrid inverters is used, according to the current energy price and usage, tens of thousands of yuan in electricity bills can be saved annually.

2. Increased power density

Hybrid inverters will develop in the direction of being smaller but with more powerful power. With the progress of technology, higher power output can be achieved in the same size of equipment. This is very important for industrial and commercial places because more powerful energy conversion equipment can be installed in a limited space. For example, in a small factory workshop, because of limited space, large inverters cannot be installed before. In the future, a new type of high-power density hybrid inverter can be installed to meet the power consumption needs of workshop equipment and make better use of renewable energy.

 (II) Deep integration with other systems

1. Deep integration with energy storage

The connection between hybrid inverter and energy storage systems will become closer and closer. In the future, integrated equipment may appear where inverters and energy storage batteries are integrated, and the charging and discharging of energy storage batteries are automatically controlled through intelligent algorithms. For example, when electricity prices are low, hybrid inverter control energy storage batteries to charge and store low-priced electricity. When electricity prices are high and electricity demand is large, the stored electricity and the electricity generated by renewable energy at that time are used together to supply power and reduce electricity costs. For some large commercial office buildings, this method can save a lot of electricity expenses.

2. Intelligent control upgrade

The degree of intelligence will become higher and higher. Hybrid inverter can automatically monitor the production and use of energy and automatically adjust the working mode according to the actual situation. For example, when sensors sense that the sunlight is weakening and the wind is strengthening, the proportion of solar and wind energy in power supply is automatically adjusted. Moreover, users can remotely monitor and manage inverters through mobile phone apps and other methods, and understand the operating status of the energy system at any time and make adjustments. For some chain commercial stores, store owners can remotely manage the energy systems of different stores through mobile phones, which is convenient and efficient.

 (III) Adaptation to more energies and scenarios

1. Multi-energy access

Hybrid inverters will be able to access more types of energy. In addition to common solar and wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, etc. may be integrated in the future. For example, in some agricultural processing enterprises, both solar energy on the factory roof can be utilized and biomass energy can be generated by processing agricultural waste. Then, these energies are uniformly managed and converted into electrical energy through hybrid inverters to increase the energy self-sufficiency rate.

2. Expansion of distributed energy

There will be wider applications in the field of distributed energy. More industrial and commercial enterprises will install their own small energy systems. Hybrid inverters will become the core component of these distributed energy systems and realize centralized management of multiple energy points. For example, in an industrial park, the energy systems of various enterprises are interconnected and coordinated through hybrid inverters to achieve optimized allocation and sharing of energy in the park and improve the energy utilization efficiency and reliability of the entire park.

Hybrid inverters have rich successful cases in industrial and commercial energy systems and have broad development trends in the future. They will continue to play an important role in the energy optimization and sustainable development of industry and commerce.