Production of 50W low power inverter

Are there life cycle inventories of low power solar inverters?

The objective of this study is to compile life cycle inventories of different power scales of solar inverters. Average life cycle inventories of low power solar inverters are compiled based on information provided by three leading European producers.

Why is the life cycle inventory of a 500 W solar inverter not updated?

The life cycle inventory of the 500 W solar inverter has not been updated because no manufacturer, which delivered data, produces a 500 W inverter. The 500 kW inverter inventory is not updated because no data has been provided for high power inverters.

How do low power solar inverters work?

Low power solar inverters transform direct electric current (DC) into alternating electric current (AC) and transform the electricity to low-voltage (230 V), which then allows the current to be fed into the grid (Jungbluth et al. 2012).

What is a 2.5 kW inverter?

2.5 kW inverter. The functional unit is one inverter (with a lifetime of 15 years). The inventories include the energy used for production and mounting, all components of the inverter and their upstream transportation, production processes, packaging and the disposal of packaging material and of the product itself after the use phase.

What impact does a new 2.5 kW inverter have on the environment?

The impact on mineral, fossil and renewable resource depletion of the old 2.5 kW in-verter is twice as high as the impact of the new 2.5 kW inverter (see Fig. 4.6). 96 % of the impacts are caused by the printed board assembly used in the old inverter.

How does the new 2.5 kW inverter affect freshwater ecotoxicity?

The impact on freshwater ecotoxicity of the new 2.5 kW inverter is almost three times as high as the impact of the old 2.5 kW inverter. The total impact of the old inverter is dominated by the integrated circuit, logic type (33 %), copper (29 %), the capacitor, film (10 %), steel (10 %) and the printed board (8 %).