In a photovoltaic installation, solar panels are direct current (DC) energy generators, although the voltage at which the  photovoltaic modules generate energy is usually different, so even if the energy is consumed in DC, a  solar inverter,converter or inverter will be necessary. In the same way it will be necessary when the energy consumed is in alternating current (AC) and it is necessary to convert from DC to AC.

DC/DC voltage inverters

Sometimes, although we work with direct current, the voltage provided by the photovoltaic panels and the voltage requested by the consumption elements do not coincide. It will be in these occasions when we need a DC/DC (DC/DC) inverter .

In a DC/DC inverter, the input direct current is converted into a square wave AC by an electronic inverter. It is then stepped up or down, depending on consumption requirements, by a transformer and converted back to DC.

A very common example is the adaptation of the power supply voltage (<12 V) of cell phones, mp3, with the voltage value available in the cigarette lighter socket of the car, whose battery is 12 V.

DC/AC voltage inverters

In other circumstances we have elements that work in alternating current. Both  solar modulesand solar batteries work in direct current, so it will be necessary to convert this energy to alternating current by means of a  photovoltaic inverter that inverts the DC to AC.

In a DC/AC inverter, the input direct current is converted to square wave alternating current by an electronic inverter. It is then stepped up by a transformer and filtered to convert the square wave into a sine wave.