As a Product Manager here at altE, I recently had the opportunity to attend an Enphase training and chat with their reps regarding their plans for new products in 2012. Enphase Energy has become the first company to successfully manufacture, market, and sell the “micro-inverter”. For the past three years they have modified and changed their hardware numerous times in an effort to streamline the micro-inverter system.
If you’re not familiar with the Enphase micro-inverter and why it is special, here is a quick run down. In the past, grid-tied solar electric systems (also known as photovoltaic or PV systems) have had the same general layout. The system has a single DC to AC inverter, which converts the DC voltage being generated by the solar modules to AC voltage that is fed back into the power grid. The micro-inverter changes this layout, by attaching a small inverter near each solar module (generally they are attached to the module racking system). The micro-inverter’s attachment cables connect to the solar module and it converts the DC voltage being generated to AC voltage right there at the module. The AC output can be combined with the outputs of other modules into a single circuit and fed back to the power grid.
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