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Jake Warner, managing director of Penrith Solar Center, with Enphase microinverters

For safety, simplicity, support and performance considerations, Penrith Solar in New South Wales has bid farewell to string inverters and now only installs solar power generation systems with micro inverters.

The solar inverter is the real workhorse of the solar power generation system-all the power generated by the solar panels of the system is transmitted through this equipment that operates under the usual harsh conditions. It is the component that is most likely to fail first in the solar power generation system, which is why special attention should be paid to the selection of the inverter.

Most of the inverters for home solar installations installed in Australia are string inverters-named as strings of solar panels connected to them; usually one is installed per system. Another option is a micro-inverter, which is about the size of a paperback book. Each solar panel uses one and is installed on the mounting system rail below it. The "AC solar panel" integrates a micro inverter on the back of the factory's panel.

One of the advantages of micro inverters is that they can optimize each panel individually. In the case of string inverters, a shaded solar panel will cause the performance of all panels in the string to decrease. With micro-inverters, only the performance of the shadow panel will be affected.

Another benefit is that micro-inverters convert DC power to AC power at the power generation point (panel), which means that high-voltage DC cables do not need to pass through the roof, and they do not require rooftop DC isolators1. Their use also allows monitoring the performance of each solar panel.

The Penrith Solar Center serves Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains area. After reviewing the operation, the company decided to abandon string inverters completely and only use Enphase micro inverters, which is the leader in this technology.

There are many reasons for this decision. Jake Warner, the founder and managing director of Penrith Solar Center, said that after consulting internal records, he found that the possibility of micro inverter failure is 8 times lower than that of string inverters—— This means that support costs are 8 times lower.

Mr. Warner said that due to its small size, micro-inverters are also easier to store, transport and install. In addition, it makes inventory control easier.

"We have ordered 7,500 microinverters for the second quarter of this year," he said. "If I order a string inverter, I have to break it down into 5 kilowatts (kW), 6kW, 7kW, 8kW, 10kW, 12kW and 15kW inverters, and now I actually only order each solar panel A micro inverter.

Mr. Warner pointed out that other major benefits of using them include better performance in hotter conditions, simplified system design, and improved remote diagnosis of system problems.

Micro-inverters have many things to like, but one of the disadvantages is that they will increase the installation cost of solar power systems by 20-25%. But Mr. Warner said:

"The reality is that if the price of a string inverter and a micro inverter are exactly the same, then no one will buy a string inverter."

String inverter manufacturers may have something to say about this, but microinverters are worth considering, especially if you have a partially shaded scene and/or budget allows. Another option is to use a power optimizer, which still requires the installation of string inverters.

Related: Learn more about panel level optimization (PLO).

Michael discovered solar problems after purchasing components to assemble a small off-grid photovoltaic system in 2008. Since then, he has been covering Australian and international solar energy news.

Another advantage of micro inverters is that their (warranty) life is usually twice that of string inverters. Therefore, once it is considered that the string inverter should be replaced at least once during the life of the system, the (expected) life cost difference between the two types of systems will become smaller, or even zero.

I have a 7,650 watt system installed in May 2013 (30 panels, 30 Enphase M215 micro inverters) and there are zero production problems. I can access the daily production record of each panel and see that the production is basically zero after the first week of operation. 2020 is the calendar year with the highest output in my history. I am about to complete the production of 100 MWh (98.5 MWh as of April 14, 2020). The output of the system can be observed in the following locations: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/nprh192552 or https://pvoutput.org/list.jsp?id=22322&sid=20215

The United States receives a 25-year warranty. AU gets the 10-year standard, if it is installed by a platinum installer, it is 15 years, and if you want to pay more again, it is 20-25 years.

I don't know that micro-inverters can be used for panels alone. Does this mean that a micro-inverter can be used to retrofit a system with 1 string inverter, especially if the string inverter fails? Some of my panels are shaded (due to the growing trees in the neighbors), a micro inverter (I think) will help.

It can be done, Jeff, but I suggest you consider buying a brand new system, because you may find that you have a brand new and possibly larger solar system with a series of new warranty services.

Another option is to place an optimizer on the affected panel. These can be used with ordinary string inverters and provide similar benefits as micro inverters.

Very likely, in these two respects. If specified, please check module compatibility here. Known: https://enphase.com/en-au/content/module-compatibility-calculator-en-au However, please be sure to consult a solar photovoltaic expert.

As the 15th month of the recent expansion, Enphase, New South Wales, is mainly an active system owner. Two things moderately weaken the above positive factors: firmware and firmware. Compared with the neighboring ones, the various micro-inverter version updates introduced a completely random zero or reduced panel production output cycle to varying degrees, while the separate Envoy update completely deleted the estimated power abandonment report, which made me less affected. Inspired. Bring a "revert to previous version" button! https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/fEfv1682494 https://pvoutput.org/aggregate.jsp?id=30437&sid=71097&v=3&t=m

Regarding the written story, in the highly competitive solar photovoltaic market, in principle, few companies are willing to give up possible additional business and income.

Se tensão é causa, não é efeito, então evito micro-inversores e mudo para inversores com fator de entrada de paineis solares 1.96 a 2 em relação a potencia do inversor. Sendo assim gero mais energia KWh do que micro inversores. Example; inverter GE 7KW 220v x 1.96 / 41v= 10 x 3= 30 x 450w= 13.5KW painéis solares opposed to 7kw micro inverter.

Não é uma má ideia, mas não é possível para uma instalação normal na Australia.

(Good idea, but it is impossible to install normally in Australia.)

Sometimes, I want to know if I have taken the wrong Fronius + Full optimizer route instead of Enphase.

On the other hand, I did regulate my system to be very flexible.

Most of the reasons for abandoning string inverters are things that benefit the company, not necessarily the consumers. This does not really prove that string inverters are taking the path of the Dodo, because they are better, but it is cheaper and more efficient for the company that provides the service.

Given the increase in costs, I think this is worrying. I think people will be misled into thinking that this company only sells micro products because they are "better"-not realizing that better means better for the seller's bottom line, not better for the buyer.

I said this as a person who has sold micro-inverter systems. At the time, I suspected that cheaper strings could also do the job. My impression was that it was much easier to install, so I ended up paying for a more expensive system to save installers time and money. guard against.

Is there any value in installing second-hand panels with micro-inverters for stand-alone systems

After the failure of three inverters, we think that micro-inverters are a better idea-if one inverter fails, the production of only one panel will be affected.

Wow, when did the three inverters fail? Something can't be right

Where's the battery? Doesn't it look like a system that can support battery connections?

I am worried that the government will start to make solar energy a problem in time, because they will only keep reducing the return you get from power supply, and the only way to save money is to not (or rarely) extract the main power network using batteries from solar energy.

I have a 24 x 320W SunPower panel system with Enphase micro inverter and a Tesla Powerwall2 battery. They cooperate very well. During the power outage, the battery supplies power to my house. If it is sunny, the battery will be charged at the same time.

Hi, I am considering Maxeon (Sunpower) panels, but Darwin’s Rimfire Energy said that microinverters are not ideal in our harsh tropical climate. Although the panels and string inverters they recommend are quality products, I would love to use micro inverters. Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences with microinverters in tropical areas? Heavy rain, strong wind and hot days? Lianna

We live in Darwin and have 20 Sunpower E20 /327 watt panels, each with Optimers and SE5000H inverters. Gem Energy installed this 3 years ago and it has been great so far. The software monitoring is easy to understand and both come with a 25-year warranty. Regards this

Thanks Ben for the feedback. Rimfire said they can install anything I want, but hesitated to use a micro inverter. Currently, I think Rimfire is still offering a 1:1 feed tariff, so I would love to go with them.

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