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So how can an inverter give us a high voltage alternating current from a low vo
ltage direct current.
Let's first consider how an alternator produces an alternating current. In its s
implest form, an alternator would have a coil of wire with a rotating magnet clo
se to it. As one pole of the magnet approaches the coil, a current will be produ
ced in the coil. This current will grow to a maximum as the magnet passes close
to the coil, dying down as the magnetic pole moves further away. However when th
e opposite pole of the magnet approaches the coil, the current induced in the co
il will flow in the opposite direction.
As this process is repeated by the continual rotation of the magnet, an alternat
ing current is produced.
Basic alternator diagram
Now lets consider what a transformer does. A transformer also causes an electric
current to be induced in a coil, but this time, the changing magnetic field is
produced by another coil having an alternating current flowing through it. Any c
oil with an electric current flowing through it will act like a magnet and produ
ce a magnetic field. If the direction of the current changes then the polarity o
f the field changes.
Now, the handy thing about a transformer is that, the voltage produced in the se
condary coil is not necessarily the same as that applied to the primary coil. If
the secondary coil is twice the size (has twice the number of turns) of the pri
mary coil, the secondary voltage will be twice that of the voltage applied to th
e primary coil. We can effectively produce whatever voltage we want by varying t
he size of the coils.
Basic transformer diagram
If we connected a direct current from a battery to the primary coil it would not
induce a current in the secondary as the magnetic field would not be changing.
However, if we can make that direct current effectively change direction repeate
dly, then we have a very basic inverter. This inverter would produce a square wa
ve output as the current would be changing direction suddenly.
Basic inverter diagram
This type of inverter might have been used in early car radios that needed to ta
ke 12 volts available in the car and produce the higher voltages required to run
radio valves (known as tubes in America) in the days before transistors were wi
dely used.
A more sophisticated inverter would use transistors to switch the current. The s
witching transistors are likely to be switching a small current which is then am
plified by further transistor circuitry. This will still be a square wave invert
er.
The Sine Wave Inverter
To get a sinusoidal alternating current from the output of our transformer, we h
ave to apply a sinusoidal current to the input. For this we need an oscillator.
An amplifying transistor can be made to oscillate by feeding some of the amplifi
ed output back to its input as positive feedback. We will all have heard this ef
fect at sometime when someone is setting up a PA or microphone system. If the mi
crophone is too close to the speaker, some of the output from the speaker is fed
back to the microphone and inputted to the amplifier again. The result is a how
ling sound.
The positive feedback in an electronic circuit can be tuned using extra componen
ts to produce the frequency we require (generally either 50 or 60 cycles per sec
ond to mimic mains electricity). If a crystal is used to control this frequency,
as in a battery watch or clock, the frequency can be very accurately controlled
.
As with simpler switching transistor circuit, the oscillator will be producing a
low current output. This will then need to be amplified by what will be roughly
equivalent to a powerful audio amplifier to produce the high current for the pr
imary coil of the transformer (the frequency of mains AC current is roughly equi
valent to the lowest notes on a bass guitar).
Sine Wave inverter diagram
The transformer, while being very useful, does not do something for nothing. Whi
le increasing the voltage, the current will be reduced, and the power (voltage x
current) will stay the same (less any inefficiency of the transformer). In othe
r words, to get 1Kw of high voltage AC current out, you have put 1Kw of low volt
age AC current in.
Grid Tied Inverters
If the above example were a grid tied inverter, ie able to feed power back into
the national grid, it would need to use a sample of the mains voltage to then be
amplified within the inverter, or to synchronise the oscilator with that sample
.
Grid tied inverters will also sense if there is a "power cut" and disconnect the
mselves from the grid. If they did not have this facility, in the event of a pow
er cut, your inverter would be attempting to power all your neighbours houses an
d would present an electrocution risk to anyone working on power lines that had
supposedly been turned off.