If you asked me what type of inverter your rooftop solar system should use:

• A string inverter — like most solar systems in Australia, or…
• Microinverters — a little baby inverter that goes under each panel.

I would say…

[Read more…]

Every year, more solar inverter brands arrive on the Australian market. But which one should you choose for your solar power system?

I think the best people to answer this question are the people that have to install, commission, maintain and support those inverters every day: the solar installers. [Read more…]

Good ideas can come from little things.

When solar installer Perry Borg wanted to protect customers’ inverter warranties with extra sun protection, he couldn’t really find what he wanted, so he decided to design and manufacture purpose-built protectors. [Read more…]

The micro-inverter debate has been stirred with two YouTube videos looking at the marketing claim that microinverters outperform string inverters when solar panels are shaded. [Read more…]

ACMA audited solar inverters for electromagnetic compliance. The worst thing they found? Missing stickers.

We’re so accustomed to seeing electrical products with compliance stickers and certificates, it’s a safe bet that most of us barely notice them. So here’s a handy reminder that those stickers and certificates matter. [Read more…]

There are a lot of solar inverter brands on the Australian market in 2021. But which ones are the best?

That’s a tough question to answer. So we asked installers we trust what they thought. [Read more…]

With this week’s launch of the Internet of Things Alliance Australia’s (IoTAA) security awareness guides, this seems a good time to remind the solar industry that we’re part of the Internet of Things – and so far, we seem to take a pretty relaxed attitude to security. [Read more…]

Big inverters are much cheaper per Watt. Another reason to go big with your solar power system.

When people ask me how much solar they should put on their roofs, I usually reply along the lines of…

“As much as you bloody well can.”

I’m not saying you should borrow money from the mafia or a dodgy finance company to do this. Still, I recommend putting on as many solar panels as is reasonable given the constraints of budget, roof space, and how much they’ll let you install in your area. [Read more…]

Many Australian homes are not allowed to export more than 5 kW to the grid. If they want a big solar system with an inverter larger than 5 kW, they must ‘export limit’ the inverter. Here’s what that means. [Read more…]

When I asked Solar Analytics’ head of business development Nigel Morris for a chat about the company’s partnership with Sungrow, I didn’t expect to end up in a conversation about system interoperability and standardisation. [Read more…]