Your solar inverter converts the direct current electricity made by your solar panels to alternating current electricity for your home.

Inverters and solar panels are designed to go together. There is an optimal number of solar panels that hook up to a specific inverter. Peak efficiency of most inverters are around 95% but a home solar power system grows less efficient if there are too many or not enough panels hooked up to an inverter.

A SunRun-certified top local installer partner will design the optimal home solar power system for your home, with the appropriate number of solar panels and inverter(s) to meet your electricity needs and get you the best return on your investment.

Often, inverters don't last as long as solar panels do, which means your home solar power system will likely need several inverters over its lifetime. SunRun continuously monitors your home solar power system and will replace your inverter(s) as needed, at no additional cost to you. Overall, an inverter accounts for about 10% of the cost of solar.

Types of Solar Inverters

• Grid-tied inverters: 
your SunRun home solar power systems will use a grid-tied inverter to allow your home to stay hooked up to the utility grid and benefit from net metering. For safety reasons, grid-tied inverters shut down during power outages.
• Stand-alone inverters:
stand-alone inverters pull DC electricity from batteries - not directly from solar panels. These inverters don't usually hook up to the grid.
• Battery back-up inverters: 
battery back-up inverters pull energy from a battery. Any extra energy goes back out to the grid.