Industrial inverters now offer application based customised solutions

May 15, 2015: Industrial inverters have evolved with time. They now offer higher efficiency, low energy losses and customised application based solutions. Find out what industry players have to offer before making a purchase decision

By Gunjan Piplani

A key requirement for any industrial unit is a strong power backup system to ensure the continuous working of its machinery and other administrative processes. This can be achieved only by installing industrial inverters.

With the technology becoming more advanced, today’s inverters have become more powerful and their output has increased, even though the number of batteries they use has gone down.

Industrial inverters are rated at 5kVA and above. There are various kinds of industrial inverters in the market, addressing the needs of different application areas and the client requirements. These include solar inverters, grid inverters, sine wave inverters and lift inverters. All these can take care of heavy industrial loads.

The latest in the market

Industrial inverters have evolved to ensure continuous power supply to businesses and industries. Earlier, this need was taken care of by generators, which required to be started manually and also caused a break in power, resulting in the loss of data, work continuity, etc.

With time, industrial inverters have also seen many technological advancements, making them more efficient.

“Technological advancement is taking place with respect to their quality and power factor. With the enhanced quality of the electronic components as well as the technical skills used in the manufacturing process, today, quality products are manufactured as per the needs of specific industries,” says Yogesh Dua, managing director, upsINVERTER.com.

upsINVERTER.com has launched a special range of lift inverters that start from 6kVA onwards. Models from this range are available in 3-phase in and 3-phase out. They are purely digital signal processing (DSP) based with static changeover (relay not used). There is only a 3ms (micro-second) changeover time, making these viable to use with sensitive devices. This range is designed specially for commercial use, IT loads and households as well as for elevators.

“One of the major technological advances in inverters is that a given output is now achieved by fewer batteries or by batteries of lower voltage. This has brought down the investment in batteries. So, an inverter that was earlier being built in 180V is now being built in 96V, which is almost half the voltage, translating to the number of batteries coming down,” shares R Sivarajan, head of R&D, Su-kam Power Solutions.

Su-kam has recently launched its Colossal DSP sine wave inverters which aim to offer reliable, regulated and stabilised pure sine wave output, available from 5kVA up to 100kVA. This range offers power generation systems that are suitable for all types of commercial establishments and are capable of running everything—lights, air conditioners and lifts—in a cost-effective manner.

In January 2015, Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd launched the Statica series (2.5kVA to 15kVA), with advanced DSP based pure sine wave technology. This product also offers smart overload and short circuit protection along with Genus ASIC technology that protects batteries. The Statica UPS series is aimed at modern offices, commercial spaces like cyber cafes, shopping malls, software development centres, modern homes, small and medium industries, etc.

Rajiv Satoor, president – power backup and solar division, Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd, says, “Going further, major developments need to happen in the field of communication. Inverters should be capable of remote monitoring; it helps the user to know the system status from anywhere.”

Making a purchase decision

Industrial inverters are a crucial purchase when setting up an industry or even installing high-end machinery. Before making a purchase decision, put forth your requirements to the potential companies under consideration, as today, customised solutions are available for needs covering load requirement, backup time, application, usage, location, serviceability, AMCs, etc.

“Before buying industrial inverters, some points must be considered—safety parameters, reverse current protection, overload protection, burn protection, short circuit protection, etc,” informs Dua.

Satoor points out that the application area, load requirements and even backup requirements are crucial to making a purchase decision.

After sales service is critical: While choosing a product that is expected to ensure your machinery’s productivity in the long run, after sales service in times of failure or breakdowns is key. Every brand with products that require a long term investment should offer an annual maintenance contract (AMC), which will ensure servicing when required even after the warranty period is over.

Sivarajan adds, “After sales service has become more streamlined now as the batteries and the product are being made by the same companies. In fact, while buying, the customer should always choose batteries as well as the inverter from the same brand so that uniformity is maintained and only one company needs to be called to rectify the situation.”

Need for certifications:

In India, no certifications or standards have been mandated yet for the industrial inverters category, though most companies do ensure a standard quality product. “One area a customer should look into is the current leakage of the product —it should be the minimum possible. Another factor to check is the high voltage test that the inverter has gone through and, also, what kind of an isolation in high voltage does the product have. Moreover, in terms of the product as a whole, its outer body should not cause any damage if touched with bare hands,” shares Sivarajan.

There are certain UL certifications that some Indian companies comply with, but there is an urgent need for standard Indian certifications as well.

The Indian manufacturing industry is slated to move towards a high growth rate this year. Industrial inverter makers are sure to witness a corresponding growth in their business, even as the efficiency of their products continues to grow.

Collosal DSP sine wave inverters from Su-kam

• Power ranging from 5kVA up to 100kVA

• Safe for sensitive equipment

• Input supply: 1-phase, 3 wire

• Voltage regulation: 220V ± 5 per cent

• Peak efficiency: More than 85-87 per cent

• LCD display

Lift inverter from upsINVERTER.com

• Starting power range of 6kVA

• Available in 3-phase in and 3-phase out

• Four line LCD display

• 3ms changeover time

• Handles large peak currents

Statica inverters from Genus Power Infrastructures

• User-friendly LCD display

• Smart overload and short circuit protection

• Unique Genus ASIC technology protects batteries

• Inbuilt surge protection and user-selectable charging options

• User interface through SNMP module for remote monitoring