SEPARATE STUDY · USD · NO SIGN-IN
AC power. Real cost boundaries.
Follow the electricity that reaches a load—and every cost along the way.
An illustrative generator-led AC scenario, not a CIPS output prediction or a supplier quotation. Countries set example frequency and voltage only; the same editable USD cost allowances are used for comparison. This page does not change your original models.
Money dashboard
Calculating…
Where the input goes
Constant input during effective operating hours. Unused DC energy goes to an ideal dump load; it is not battery charging, sales or automatic source curtailment. The full mechanical input is priced.
Where CAPEX goes
Equipment is costed per mechanical kW; inverter per nameplate kVA. Installation, source infrastructure, cooling/protection and engineering are fixed allowances. They do not automatically resize with the machine. Land, permits, grid studies, wiring, commissioning and development must be included in your entered allowances. No giant-machine supplier quote is implied.
What could change payback?
| One change at a time | Annual margin | Simple payback | NPV |
|---|
Sensitivity cases are comparisons—not predictions or achieved savings. More useful demand can reduce dumped energy, but needs a real load or buyer. More current alone does not create additional real power.
AUDIT · OCTOBER 8, 2026
What has been checked—and what remains
| Area | Evidence boundary | Next requirement |
|---|---|---|
| AC power accounting | Software-tested: RMS / peak, single- and balanced three-phase power, kVA limit, zero input and energy balance. | Measured inverter efficiency and load-dependent losses. |
| Economic accounting | Costs include full input, dump loss, standby import, availability, capital, upkeep and a replacement allowance. Invalid or unknown inputs do not become free energy or free equipment. | Source contract, tariff or buyer, supplier budget and site-specific installation estimate. |
| Mechanical → electrical connection | Assumed efficiency; independent of the CAD rotor and cartridge solvers. | Coupled force/motion/material model and simultaneous loaded input/output measurements. Active CIPS thickness and qualified output remain undetermined. |
| Heat & dump load | Loss energy is accounted for; cooling hardware is not sized. | Continuous thermal ratings, heat rejection, dump resistor duty, protection and safe shutdown. |
| Grid / real loads | Ideal sinusoidal, balanced, fixed-voltage steady state. | Harmonics, unbalance, surge and motor starting, current/thermal derating, DC-link ripple, fault protection, earthing and grid approval. |
| Continuous operation | Operating hours × assumed availability, not a 24/7 guarantee. | Verified source availability, maintenance/fatigue data, startup energy, downtime sequencing and backup design. |
Method, sources & limits
Simple payback = initial CAPEX ÷ positive annual operating margin. It excludes the timing of future replacement. NPV discounts end-of-year cash flows and subtracts the specified replacement cost in its chosen year. Levelized cost divides discounted costs by discounted delivered AC energy. No tax, debt, inflation, escalation, degradation, construction delay, incentives or salvage are modeled. Unknown required prices leave dependent money results unknown.
Mechanical input here is a separately available shaft-energy stream. If an electric motor supplies it, enter the all-in price per delivered mechanical kWh, including motor and drive losses—not just the grid electricity tariff. No battery, reactive-power payment or capacity payment is assumed. Opportunity cost of a waste-energy source is not necessarily zero.
- NIST Handbook 135 (2025): lifecycle-cost analysis — framework, not WegaWomb prices.
- NREL/NLR SAM: levelized cost of energy — discounted costs and delivered energy.
- Victron: real and apparent AC power — watts, VA and power factor.
- Manufacturer example: inverter W/VA, temperature and standby ratings — illustrates checks still needed, not selected WegaWomb equipment.
50 Hz (Kenya/Ghana) and 60 Hz (USA), with editable 400/480 V examples, are inherited from the AC study’s linked country sources. They are not universal connection voltages. Ghana retains the earlier East-Africa hostname; this page is explicitly the Ghana scenario and contains no national demand extrapolation.