Inverter Standby Power Consumption

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In this short video, I'm going to show you the silent energy consumer of your off-grid solar system: the inverter standby power consumption. We'll dive into the details of low power consumption inverters and how to manage inverter idle consumption effectively.

First, we'll explore the idle consumption of all-in-one inverters, which combine an MPPT charge controller, inverter, and battery charger in one device. Many people don't realize that these devices consume power even when no load is applied, known as idle power consumption. For example, popular all-in-one inverters like the MPP PIP-2424LV-MDS consume 50W, while the Victron Multiplus 2 48V 5kW only uses 11W. I'll break down the daily idle power consumption of these and other models, showing how significant this can be for your system.

Standalone inverters also consume power in standby mode. Models like the Bestek 12V 300W have an idle consumption of 3W, whereas the Renogy 12V 3000W consumes 50W. Including these figures in your load calculation is crucial to avoid running out of battery power unexpectedly.

To reduce idle consumption, turning off the inverter when it's not in use is an option, though not always feasible for systems running essential appliances like fridges. Adding more solar panels can help compensate for idle consumption. Choosing inverters with low idle power consumption, such as the Victron Multiplus series, can also make a big difference, though they come at a higher cost.

Additionally, enabling eco mode can reduce idle power consumption by allowing the inverter to detect and power loads only when necessary. However, this might not work well with appliances that have very low loads, like fridges with electronic thermostats.