 Power inverter

A power inverter converts electrical power from a direct current input to an alternating current output. Its switches reverse or modulate the connection to the DC supply, while its control and filtering determine the output waveform. It transfers energy from its input; the switching operation itself is not an energy source. The DOE overview explains the switching-and-filtering principle and distinguishes equipment designed for independent operation from equipment relying on a grid reference.^[ref]

An ideal H-bridge uses four controlled switches around a two-terminal load. One diagonal pair applies $+V_d$ across the load, and the opposite pair applies $-V_d$. In a stipulated square-wave mode with equal half-periods,Its root mean square magnitude is $V_d$, but it is not sinusoidal. Its Fourier series isThe fundamental RMS magnitude is $2\sqrt{2}{V}_d/\pi$. Thus a $48\mathrm{V}$ input gives a $48\mathrm{V}$ RMS ideal square-wave output, but only about $43.22\mathrm{V}$ RMS in the fundamental. Equal total RMS does not imply equal waveform or equal response of every electrical load.

For a $12\Omega$ purely resistive load directly across this ideal square-wave output, mean active power is $V_d^2/R=192\mathrm{W}$. The fundamental contributes $8V_d^2/({\pi }^{2}R)\approx 155.63\mathrm{W}$ and the other harmonic components supply the remainder. The harmonic active power sum accounts for that difference. Adding a filter changes the circuit; the directly connected resistor calculation should not then be reused unchanged.

Rapid switching also permits averaged control. If a short switching interval applies $+V_d$ for fraction $d$ and $-V_d$ for the rest, its average output is $(2d-1)V_d$. Choosing $d(t)=(1+m\sin \omega t)/2$, with $0\le m\le 1$, makes that local average sinusoidal. The actual waveform still contains switching components that the load and filter must handle.

A proposed low-voltage demonstration records DC input electric potential difference and electric current, output waveform and load electric current, comparing average input and output power. Output frequency, total RMS, fundamental RMS and waveform distortion answer different questions. For islanded microgrid operation, control of a usable local supply is an additional capability, not a consequence of DC-to-AC conversion alone.