Grid Tie Inverter – I

The Grid Tie Inverter or Synchronous Inverter is a special type of power inverter that converts DC electricity into alternating current. A special feature of these types of inverters is that they can feed AC into the existing electrical grid. GTIs are often used to convert DC electricity produced by renewable sources of energy like small wind turbines using permanent magnet generators into AC used to power homes and businesses.

During the period of overproduction from the permanent magnet source, power is routed back to the state grid and hence sold to the local power corporations. But these types of arrangements are possible with special type of grid networks only. These grids are specially manufactured to allow ease of distribution and back feeding. Residential areas and businesses connected with grid-tied electrical systems are permitted in many countries, most popular being North America and Europe. There are different compensating ways in which different governments pay the individuals for feeding back the power like ‘Net metering or ‘Feed-in-tariff’.

Due to this system, the payback period of the renewable energy source like a wind permanent magnet generator decreases and hence the inflow of money is increased for the consumer. Hence using a wind permanent magnet generator is becoming a popular way of generating the power in many nations.