Is your web-connected solar inverter secure?
Note from Finn: Please welcome Willem Westerhof to the SolarQuotes® Blog. Willem is a Hacker, Researcher and IT Specialist who is particularly well known around the world for finding cyber-security holes in popular solar inverters. [Read more…]
Enphase have not got close to the cost reduction targets they set a couple of years ago.
Enphase is an American company that sells microinverters. These are small, fun sized versions of the larger string inverters most solar homes use. They work with individual panels and are either bolted beneath them or, in the case of AC panels, come already attached. [Read more…]
Today Ronald examines the SolarEdge HD Wave inverter. It’s small. But not that small.
It’s An Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weeny, SolarEdge, HD Wave String Inverter…
SolarEdge, an Israeli company, has produced the HD Wave — the world’s smallest string inverter. By size, this little cracker takes more DC than any inverter out there. Not only that, but it grabs DC, uses its funky HD wave technology on it, and spurts out the AC our homes use with greater efficiency than any thing else on the market. And it’s now available in Australia, starting from a couple of weeks ago. [Read more…]
2 x 5kW SMA Sunny Boy Inverters. One made in China (SMA SB 5.0-1AV-40), one made in Germany (SB5000TL-21). How do they compare?
SMA have released a new single phase inverter. They kept the same joyful name of “Sunny Boy” however the model has changed from what was known as the “dash 21” to the “dash 40”.
But let me tell you a well-known secret about the SMA “dash 40”. The respected German manufacturer is manufacturing these new SMA inverters in China.
Bombshell.
Has this turned the single phase model of SMA inverters into a cheap Chinese inverter? To find out, I bought myself a 5kW Chinese-built SMA “dash 40” and pulled it apart to compare it to the 5kW German made “dash 21”.
In this post, I’ll first look at the external features: the “smart screen”, the Sunny Home Manager, and the inbuilt DC isolator.
Then I’ll look at the internal build quality, and where the different components are manufactured. Finally, we’ll discuss the after sales service and warranty of SMA. [Read more…]
Enphase panel monitoring is a great feature. But some Enphase installers flat out refuse to enable it.
There are many people in this world who enjoy monitoring the output of their rooftop solar systems.
But other people – not so much. For example, I don’t think my parents have checked the output of their system since they got it. My father just looks at the electricity bill every three months and grunts, “Power bill low. Is good.” And then goes back to making stone tools.
But for those who enjoy the heady pleasures of solar system monitoring, modern technology can provide the fix you’re looking for. [Read more…]
Are these 3 little chips all you need to optimise your panels for maximum energy output?
Maxim Integrated is a Californian electronics company that has been going strong for 33 years and has only ever been delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange once. As you may be able to tell from their name, they like to integrate things and have developed a way to optimise the power from individual solar panels using 3 tiny chips embedded in the panel. [Read more…]
Did you know you can add panels up to 133% of your inverter capacity? Read on to discover why oversizing solar is a smart move (as long as your roof is big enough – unlike this guy’s).
Installing rooftop solar systems with a total panel capacity greater than the inverter capacity is usually a very good idea. It will certainly save you money, but it can also help get around the restrictions many Australians face on the size of inverter they can connect to the grid. [Read more…]
Is it OK to put East and West facing panels on a single input inverter?
When it comes to Australian solar installations, conventional string inverters tower over the competition like a current converting colossus. But microinverters, which are tiny in both physical size and market share, are shaping up to beat string inverters on both price and reliability. Enphase, the world’s largest producer of microinverters, plans to beat conventional inverters on price within two years. If they meet their goal of cutting micro inverter costs in half, it will change the way Australians install solar power. [Read more…]
Part 1 of an interview with Enphase VP of Quality & Reliability: Ciaran Fox
In my experience solar installers either really love microinverters, or are incredibly wary of them. There seems to be very little middle ground.
Those who love them talk about their ease of installation, increased power output, flexibility of panel layout, panel level monitoring and shade performance.
Those who are wary of them generally worry about their reliability.
A microinverter is a box of sophisticated electronics that sits on your roof (under each solar panel). In Australia your roof gets hot! And if a microinverter fails, replacing it means climbing on the roof and removing the panel. So installers’ concerns are understandable.
A microinverter. You generally use one per solar panel instead of a single large central inverter. They are about as big as an iPad mini
To get some authoritative answers, I asked installers that I know to send me their toughest questions about microinverter reliability.
I then put those questions to Ciaran Fox who is the Vice President of Quality & Reliability at the world’s biggest microinverter manufacturer, Enphase. [Read more…]
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