Have Microinverters Taken Over?

[ggunn]

Very interesting. I would imagine if micros get to be cheaper with more commercial voltage options (which they are starting to) it may head that direction.

APsystems QT2 Microinverter - APsystems USA | The global leader in multi-platform MLPE technology

APsystems introduces its 2nd generation of native 3-phase quad microinverters, reaching unprecedented power outputs of 1728VA (for 208V) and 1800VA (for 480V) to harness the power of today’s high-output PV modules.

usa.apsystems.com

I saw this one on display at the NABCEP CE conference a couple of weeks ago.

 

[isurf]

APsystems QT2 Microinverter - APsystems USA | The global leader in multi-platform MLPE technology

APsystems introduces its 2nd generation of native 3-phase quad microinverters, reaching unprecedented power outputs of 1728VA (for 208V) and 1800VA (for 480V) to harness the power of today’s high-output PV modules.

usa.apsystems.com

I saw this one on display at the NABCEP CE conference a couple of weeks ago.

That looks very similar to the Yotta Energy micro I mentioned in an earlier post. Wonder if they come from the same place.

 

[pv_n00b]

There was a time when it was thought the future was AC modules. Just could not get the module manufacturers and microinverter manufacturers together to produce a low-cost product.

 

[jaggedben]

There was a time when it was thought the future was AC modules. Just could not get the module manufacturers and microinverter manufacturers together to produce a low-cost product.

It turned out to be naive to believe that MLPE of any sort would be that cheap and easy. Plus MPLE requires competencies in many more areas than manufacturing a module does. And the benefits of getting it together with a module (saving 2 mins per module on the roof?) turn out to be less than the benefit of being able to procure them independently.

 

[BackCountry]

It turned out to be naive to believe that MLPE of any sort would be that cheap and easy. Plus MPLE requires competencies in many more areas than manufacturing a module does. And the benefits of getting it together with a module (saving 2 mins per module on the roof?) turn out to be less than the benefit of being able to procure them independently.

We used them with railless, QCell 340’s and before that LG 330’s I think. They worked well for railless; however, what screwed us was QCells manufacture theirs with fiber tape holding up the PV leads to the micro. It’s supposed to be a ready to install product, and we thought that fiber tape was supposed to be special. Well, it wasn’t. So now we have about 20 installs that need to be stripped and all of the PV wire leads from the mod to the micro need to be clipped to module frame, and QCells has refused to take warranty responsibility even though that’s how their install manual shows it.

 

[pv_n00b]

We used them with railless, QCell 340’s and before that LG 330’s I think. They worked well for railless; however, what screwed us was QCells manufacture theirs with fiber tape holding up the PV leads to the micro. It’s supposed to be a ready to install product, and we thought that fiber tape was supposed to be special. Well, it wasn’t. So now we have about 20 installs that need to be stripped and all of the PV wire leads from the mod to the micro need to be clipped to module frame, and QCells has refused to take warranty responsibility even though that’s how their install manual shows it.

This was a problem with what was basically a regular module with a microinverter preinstalled with all the DC wiring exposed. AC modules had the microinverter replace the junction box with no exposed wiring from the module to the MLPE. This of course means that replacing the microinverter required replacing the whole module. But it did get rid of the DC connectors.

 

[Steve16]

I would say that in my plan reviews I'm probably seeing 50/50 between solar edge and enphase.

But, I would say that it's more likely that more than 75% of the companies I'm seeing are using enphase. We just happen to have one company with tons of installs using solar edge