Patent ID: 7145265

Claim:
A hybrid power system for providing power to a load, comprising: a solar DC power source; a rectified AC power source; and first and second selection components connected respectively to the outputs of the solar DC power source and rectified AC power source and having their outputs connected to a common node; wherein, the first and second selection components select either or both power sources to apply power to the common node depending on the magnitude of the voltage from each source; wherein a minimum solar voltage level is chosen such that below that level solar power is not sufficient to drive the load; and wherein the peak rectified AC voltage is selected and controlled to be equal to or slightly greater than the selected minimum solar voltage; so that when the solar voltage is equal to or greater than the selected minimum, the load is driven by the solar DC power source, and when the solar voltage is less than the selected minimum, the load is driven by the rectified AC power source.