What is a DC-AC inverter?
The utility grid supplies you with alternating current (AC) electricity. AC is the standard form of electricity for anything that plugs in to the utility power. Direct current (DC) electricity flows in a single direction. Batteries provide DC electricity. AC alternates its direction many times per second. AC is used for grid service because it is more practical for long distance transmission. An inverter converts DC to AC, and also changes the voltage. In other words, it is a power adapter. It allows a battery-based system to run conventional AC appliances directly or through conventional home wiring. There are ways to use DC directly, but for a modern lifestyle, you will need an inverter for the vast majority, if not all of your loads (in electrical terms, loads are devices that use electrical energy). Incidentally, there is another type of inverter called grid-interactive. It is used to feed solar (or other renewable) energy into a grid-connected home and to feed excess energy back i
