Looking for high voltage DC to AC inverter Best answer on the web

Posted in: darrelrussell.com edit
07 Jan 2009
  • I am looking for a high voltage standalone DC to AC inverter that can take a 300V-500V DC input and generate a pure sine ware 120V and/or 240V AC output. It needs to be able to handle at least 2000W.
    I am looking for a non-grid-tie replacement for a http://www.cosolar.com/catalog/cat_grid_tie.htm>Sunnyboy 2500U grid-tie inverter for use in a solar system. I want to avoid the need to rewire the pannels, thus the requiement for the high input voltage.


  • Hello bigjosh,

    This is a tough one, mainly because of the input. I was able to find one that seems to fit your requirements. Most others I was looking into can't meet your VDC input requirement.
    If you can accept this one good product as an answer, I can post it and look for some more custom solutions. How many products you were expecting to find that are not custom made for your answer?
    Here's the one I found :

    Product : 6kva Ace Series
    Company : Transistor Devices
    Inputs : 24, 48, 120, 270, 400VDC with 75% to 130% range (@520V max)
    Output : 50Hz, 60Hz or 400Hz Factory Set - 2% independent of input
    Rating : 6kVA Nominal, 7kVA Overload
    URL : http://www.tdipower.com/pro_industrial.htm
    Notes : Many more listed on the same page.


  • The comments somehow missed my attention until I was already answering your question - I came to much the same conclusions as sgtcory. I'm glad I didn't accidently hijack someone else's commission:
    The folks at Transistor Devices Inc. seem to have several products that might fit the bill:
    Up to 2500W:
    http://www.tdipower.com/acp/pdf/ace.pdf

    Main inverter page with more options:
    http://www.tdipower.com/acp/prod.htm

    Pricing appears to be by quotation only which may be a bad sign.

    (successful) Search terms:
    500V DC-AC inverter

    -Haversian


  • Hello bigjosh,

    I hope I didn't seem to jump to any quick conclusions. I work in this field quite often, and as you noted, this is probably a bit expensive. Finding similar solutions would cost about the same, and of course, custom solutions will cost even more. It's expensive for the maufacturer as well, so they probably only carry several assets at any given time.
    As noted, here is the one seemingly good product I was able to locate :

    Product : 6kva Ace Series
    Company : Transistor Devices
    Inputs : 24, 48, 120, 270, 400VDC with 75% to 130% range (@520V max) Output : 50Hz, 60Hz or 400Hz Factory Set - 2% independent of input
    Rating : 6kVA Nominal, 7kVA Overload
    URL : http://www.tdipower.com/pro_industrial.htm
    Notes : Many more listed on the same page.


    Here is a company in Wisconsin that states they can make custom DC to AC inverters that may also be worth a closer look, although the ones they do carry are smaller and have a maximum DC input of 48 volts :
    TSi Power
    1103 West Pierce Ave
    Antigo, Wisconsin 54409
    800/874-3160
    http://www.line-conditioner.com/DC-to-AC-Inverter.htm
    Note : Statement is at the bottom of the page


    I was able able to find two more companies, who proudly display the fact that they can offer custom power conversion solutions. They are however, not located in the United States. Again - we are probably talking high dollar items, but it may be worth a look :
    Pivotal Power (Canada)
    http://www.pivotalpower.com/

    Amalgen Technologies
    http://www.amalgen.com.au/power_electronics/inverters.asp


    For your comparison and notes (extended project information), you may want to have a look at this company. They list relative prices on the site, and claim they offer financing, although the layout can be rather hard to read. They may be willing to offer a partial solution :
    CiSolar
    http://www.cisolar.com/Catgrid.html


    I hope this answers your question to your satisfaction. I wish there were more suitable resources for your request in a moderate price range, but at least we have a solid starting point.

    To assist with this answer I searched Google for :

    high voltage "dc to ac" inverter
    ://www.google.com/search?q=high+voltage+%22dc+to+ac%22+inverter

    high voltage "dc to ac" inverter 500
    ://www.google.com/search?q=high+voltage+%22dc+to+ac%22+inverter+500

    Thanks for the very challenging question. Should you need any clarification, please do not hesitate to ask. I am willing to help as much as I can.
    SgtCory


  • This unit does indeed fit the requirements stated in my question exactly - please repost as an answer.
    The question is, how much do they cost? (They look very expensive)

    I'll try to get pricing info tommorow and post a comment.

    Thanks!