Power Inverter Offers High Efficiency for Grid Energy Recycling
Mean Well has announced the new ERG-5000 series of four-channel, 5 kW power inverters designed to promote energy recycling and conservation in battery tests, energy storage, and other grid power applications.
The ERG-5000 from Mean Well is a standard series of highly efficient four-channel, 5kW energy recycling inverters for indoor grid power applications.
ERG-5000 Energy Recycling Power Inverter. Image used courtesy of Mean Well
The inverter series is designed to provide high-efficiency power conversion (up to 91%) for grid energy recycling in battery test and production aging applications, yielding cost savings and promoting energy conservation.
The ERG-5000 can receive up to 420 VDC at the input and delivers single-phase grid AC power at the output, accommodating up to 1250 W at each of its four inputs.
Along with fully digital controls and programmable input voltage/current, the inverter is available in models with two different DC input voltage ranges to support a broad range of potential applications.
Recycling Energy Back to the Grid
A primary application for the ERG-5000 is grid energy recycling. In grid energy recycling, AC grid power used for testing power supplies or other equipment under test (EUT) is recaptured and returned to the grid.
Energy recycling with the ERG-5000 power inverter. Image used courtesy of Mean Well
By returning this energy to the grid, test costs and power consumption are reduced, improving the operating efficiency of the test platform and reducing the demands on already strained grids.
As an inverter, the main function of the ERG-5000 is to convert DC power to utility-grade AC power. The ERG-5000 accommodates a nominal DC input voltage range of 10 to 60 VDC in the standard model and 60 VDC to 420 VDC for the high-voltage model (ERG-5000H).
With a total rated input power of 5kW across all four channels (1250 W per channel), the ERG-5000 outputs up to 4600 VA of AC power at 180 to 264 VAC, 60/50Hz nominal.
To ensure seamless system operation, the inverter incorporates a range of monitoring functions, including over temperature, grid fault, overvoltage, and other critical alarm functions.
Efficiency is Key
Conversion efficiency is the critical specification for the ERG-5000 inverter, which delivers up to 91% at full load for the high input model. More efficient power conversion means more power is returned to the grid for additional energy and cost savings.
Recycling AC power back to the grid. Image used courtesy of Ecopac Power
In energy recycling applications, the energy recycling ratio for a full test system using the ERG-5000 can be defined as:
Energy Recycling Ratio = Efficiency 1 (power supply) x Efficiency 2 (ERG-5000 series)
ERG-5000H efficiency at 380 VDC input, 25℃ ambient. Image used courtesy of Ecopac Power
Other Inverter Applications
In addition to grid energy recycling, other important applications for inverters like the ERG-5000 include battery energy storage systems (BESS) and solar power inverters.
BESS systems use lithium-ion, or other long-duration storage technologies, like flow batteries, to store energy for load-balancing purposes in renewable power systems (wind, solar, etc.). High-voltage power inverters convert the DC voltage from the BESS to usable AC grid power.
In a solar energy plant, photovoltaic (PV) cells generate DC power that must be converted to grid AC power through a DC/AC inverter.
