How many solar panels are required for a 10kva inverter?
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This is a simple design related question and can be calculated in minutes.
The number of solar panels is 32. Each solar panel will have a capacity of 315 Watt.
Simple calculation, per every kVA you take, the same amount of Solar panels are required. For this question, 10 kVA will require 10 kWp of Solar panels. Simple.
A much detailed calculation is to check the Input Voltage and Current of the inverter. Match these two values with the output of the Solar panels.
We have learned in our Electrical subjects, when we connect loads in series the Voltage adds up. And when we connect the Loads in parallel, the current adds up.
Similarly, take a 315 Watt-peak Solar panel data sheet from the internet, take a 10 kVA inverter data sheet from the internet. Match the output voltage and current of the 32 Solar panels (either in series or parallel combination), with the input Voltage and current of the Inverter.
Kilovolt amps is a measure of apparent power but not real power. It is simply a statement of 1,000 volt amps. Sometimes it is used to represent how much power a device requires instead of watts (for whatever reason). I often get a question when helping others install solar gear they start by saying something like “I always want 5,000 watts available, 24-hours a day”. They are essentially saying their solar panels and batteries should always supply them a certain amount of power anytime (which in this case is 5 kW). But it is a measure of current flow necessary to drive a particular device such as 500W blender or a 1,850W hair dryer. When thinking in terms of power we need to introduce the concept of time and this is why I believe people introduce the kVa unit.
To understand this, suppose I have a battery that can provide 500W at 24-volt for 10 minutes and I plug in a 500W 24-volt DC blender. That means the battery can operate the blender for 10 minutes before it is drained (ignoring the discharge curve of a battery and that DC blenders probably don’t exist). The rating of “500 watt” means it requires 500W of continuous power to operate. In the world of power plants we don’t often think “how long can something operate” because the power grid is full of power but a solar system that relies on batteries is not. There is a definite amount of power coming from the system and that is the wattage generated by the solar panels at any given time plus the remaining wattage in the batteries. For this we think of kilowatt hours, which is 1,000 watts of power for an hour.