Is the home inverter running cost the same as the grid power tariff rate?
Most people believe so. They have a notion that the cost of getting power from it is the same as the rate at which they consume electricity.
They believe that home inverters are economical to run;
They believe that home inverters are a good source of getting power during power shutdowns.
If we are comparing to the DG (Diesel Generator), they are definitely cheaper to run, but, if compared to a PV solar, the cost is much higher than the tariff rate of the power grid.
Each unit of power supplied by the home inverter actually costs roughly 1.4 to 1.6 times the grid rate.
This means that if the home inverter is giving the output of 1000 W and the grid tariff is Rs. 6.5/Unit, then the cost of getting electricity produced will be Rs. 9.1 (Rs. 6.5 x 1.4) to Rs. 10.4 (Rs. 6.5 x 1.6) per hour.
Since this is a recurring cost, over a period of time substantial cash outflow happens on running a home inverter.
The larger the size of the home inverter, the more will be the monthly expenditure incurred.
The loss happens in the home inverter due to various losses associated with it.
To understand the magnitude of the loss in running the home inverter, I have summarized, in the table below the expenses over a period of 25 years, (the life of PV solar systems).
Please note that I have ignored the cost of the batteries as they will be required in both the PV solar system and the home inverter system. Only the cost of electricity has been considered for simplicity, Other maintenance costs have been ignored.
The assumptions done for calculations are given at the beginning of the table.
table
| Home Inverter Running Cost | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Assumptions | |||
| Power Shutdown/Day | 3 | Hrs | |
| Electricity Tariff Rate | 6.5 | Rs./ Unit | |
| Elect charges escalation/yr | 3% | P.a. | |
| Inverter usage Rate approx (assuming 60% loss) | 10.4 | Rs./ Unit | |
| Inverter output | 1000 | W | |
| Years | Inverter Run Hrs. | Annual Increase Factor | Electricity Consumed/Annum(Rs.) |
| 1 | 1,095 | 1.00 | -11388 |
| 2 | 1,095 | 1.03 | -11730 |
| 3 | 1,095 | 1.06 | -12082 |
| 4 | 1,095 | 1.09 | -12444 |
| 5 | 1,095 | 1.13 | -12817 |
| 6 | 1,095 | 1.16 | -13202 |
| 7 | 1,095 | 1.19 | -13598 |
| 8 | 1,095 | 1.23 | -14006 |
| 9 | 1,095 | 1.27 | -14426 |
| 10 | 1,095 | 1.30 | -14859 |
| 11 | 1,095 | 1.34 | -15305 |
| 12 | 1,095 | 1.38 | -15764 |
| 13 | 1,095 | 1.43 | -16237 |
| 14 | 1,095 | 1.47 | -16724 |
| 15 | 1,095 | 1.51 | -17225 |
| 16 | 1,095 | 1.56 | -17742 |
| 17 | 1,095 | 1.60 | -18274 |
| 18 | 1,095 | 1.65 | -18823 |
| 19 | 1,095 | 1.70 | -19387 |
| 20 | 1,095 | 1.75 | -19969 |
| 21 | 1,095 | 1.81 | -20568 |
| 22 | 1,095 | 1.86 | -21185 |
| 23 | 1,095 | 1.92 | -21821 |
| 24 | 1,095 | 1.97 | -22475 |
| 25 | 1,095 | 2.03 | -23149 |
| Total Inverter hrs. | 27,375 | Total | -415,200 |
| *Negative figs. means cash outflow | |||
In my home town daily power cut duration is 4-5 hours in day time i am planning to install inverter syatem need your help on below topics
1 what will the running cost for 2kva invter system ?
2. Should i go with 1.5kva or 2kva ?
3. What is average life of inverter and battery ?
4. Does inverter cumsums electrity even its fully charged ?
(electricity bill terrif is 4.5 INR per unit) average load on system is 500watt at a time. And mqximum load is 1500watt.
I hope you will reply me.
Hi Rahul, here, are the answers to your query:
01. By inverter I am assuming that you are saying ‘home inverter’. The running cost of the inverter is approx 1.5 to 1.6 times the electricity rate. If it’s a 2 Kva inverter running at 80% load, it will consume 2×80%= 1.6 units per hour. This means a cost of Rs. 4.5 *1.6= Rs. 7.2.
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