Have a a couple of questions on basic principles with respect to microinverter style solar systems. Forgive my terminology/lexicon with respect to appropriate terms. I am a beginner with all this stuff.
A basic explanation:
Each microinverter adjusts itself to the grid's AC sinewave. It then ups the voltage just a bit (converted from DC input of panels) so that your household will actually pull some current from the microinverter. This happens because in order for current to flow (whether AC or DC) there needs to be a potential difference (volts). Electric current, similar to water flow, flows from a higher potential to a lower potential.
Now if you have more than one microinverter, each one syncs itself to the grid, so basically they are all in sync. Each one contributes to the current that can be pulled from your household.
So in short, they "blend" themselves with the grid and supply some of the power to your loads.
That's the reason why when the grid is down, you will still not have power from solar when using just microinverters. It's also a safety thing, as not to push current to the grid when it's down, possibly injuring linemen or power Co. workers doing maintenance on the grid.
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