Diehl Controls receives an award for its inverter technology on the occasion of the "Innovation prize of the administrative district Ravensburg" The jury was convinced by the new inverter generation which makes modern heat pumps even more efficient.
Heat pumps are a quite popular alternative to oil and gas heating. Powered by electricity from renewable sources, it is virtually carbon-neutral and easy on both - the environment and the wallet. To make heat pumps as energy-efficient as possible, Diehl Controls, a technology company based in Wangen (Germany), is developing power-saving inverters. As central electronic component, such alternating currents drive the heat pump's compressor, in addition to fans and pumps.
At this year's "Innovation prize of the administrative district Ravensburg", Diehl Controls received an award with the SIP technology (Smart Current Path) of its new inverter Generation 7. The innovation prize is awarded every two years by the Kreissparkasse Ravensburg and the WiR GmbH (association for the promotion of industry and innovation). The jury was especially convinced by one decisive detail of the new SIP topology, in which the current from the grid only has to overcome four instead of five voltage drops via transistors or diodes in all switching states of the inverter in order to generate the desired torque in the compressor motor.
The SIP topology reduces conduction losses in the inverter's power semiconductors by 20 percent. Thanks to the use of new semiconductor technologies, especially in the specific operating points of the heat pumps, it will be possible to increase their efficiencies to above-average levels in the future. In addition, Generation 7 inverters no longer burden the public power supply networks with reactive power which additionally supports the rapid shift toward heating with electrically powered heat pumps.
"With our new SIP technology, we have also succeeded in making an innovative leap in the seventh generation of inverters generating a real customer benefit," states Carsten Wolff, President of the Diehl Controls Division Board. "As a partner to heat pump manufacturers, we are establishing ourselves in one of the dynamic markets of the future and thus support the energy turnaround."