Solar Power Forum
March 10, 2010, 07:03:37 AM *
solar power forumWelcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Help Search Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Enphase Micro Inverters  (Read 763 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
wil
Global Moderator
Newbie
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 46


when lightning strikes


« on: August 11, 2009, 02:28:29 PM »

i just wanted to say that i got 4 enphase 175's and 4 different solar panels. sight unseen i had the whole thing mounted using ironridge ground mounts, wired and tied into the meter base in less than two hours.

it really is as simple as:

1     unpack the rack, mount to a wooden pallet with lag bolts.
2     attach the micro inverters to the rack.
3     attach the panels to the rack.
4     plug the solar panel mc4 leads into the micro inverters.
5     plug the micro inverters in to each other (15 maximum per string)
6     put a terminator cap on the farthest inverter.
7     plug the closest inverter into a small ac disconnect (2 pole 15 amp breaker)
8     add required disconnect per your local utility
9     send the 240 volt output into a 2 pole breaker in your meter base
10   start selling back power
Logged
grnhouse
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 25



WWW
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2010, 01:24:06 PM »

Enphase Inverters have many additional advanatages.

1) increased power output per panel: Each panel has it's own inverter that maximizes power production. Enphase claims a 5-25% increase in power over typical string inverters.

2) simplified design and expansion: Enphase inverters are not limited to string size limitations and panels can be mounted on different roofs with different orientations. You can start with a small system and add to it as the budget allows. ( Wholesale Solar has a "starter-system" with inverter, panel, racking and other parts for less that $1,000)

3) probably the best on-line monitoring system: The "Enlighten" monitoring system provides real time information about how your system is working. Each inverter sends information to the "Enphase Enlighten" website where owners can monitor the performance of their solar. The big advantage of the Enphase system is that each module's performance can be tracked.
Logged
grnhouse
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 25



WWW
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2010, 10:13:20 AM »

Wholesale Solar is currently monitoring four different panels using Enphase inverters and the on-line "Enlighten" monitoring system.
Check it out at : http://www.wholesalesolar.com/enphase-enlighten-demonstration.html
Logged
grnhouse
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 25



WWW
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2010, 11:04:52 AM »

Here is a picture of some Enphase powered panels with partial snow and shading. This system is still producing some power. A typical system, with string inverters, would not be producing much if any power under these circumstances.



Check out how this system is working at: (I fixed this link on 2/3/10 - so it should work now)

http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/nuU71300

(43) 220-watt REC panels with (43) 190-watt Enphase inverters
Logged
wil
Global Moderator
Newbie
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 46


when lightning strikes


« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2010, 01:23:48 PM »

this is an excellent example of the benefits of using enphase!!
Logged
I AM the Sun
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1


« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2010, 04:10:58 PM »

Besides the maximizing of power production and the ease of setting these up, are there any other benefits to using mirco-inverters as opposed to a standardized single inverter system? I've heard that if one panel is shaded the rest continue to produce with the micro-inverters. Is this true?
Logged
grnhouse
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 25



WWW
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2010, 04:29:53 PM »

Yes - Each panel has it's own inverter and uses MPPT (maximum power point tracking) to maximize the power that can be produced with the sun that is falling on that panel. If one panel is shaded the others continue to produce as much power as is possible with the available sun.

Another benefit is there is no DC wiring or DC disconnect. The DC wiring from each panel plugs right into each inverter, located behind the panel. This also means that there is no high DC voltage to contend with, as is the case with string inverters.

There is no single point of failure as with a single large inverter. If one micro-inverter should fail, the others would continue to supply power. If a string inverter fails, the entire system is down. With the micro-inverters, there is also no large converter to mount near the main electrical service, which helps in some installations.
Logged
grnhouse
Newbie
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 25



WWW
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2010, 12:32:21 PM »

Besides the maximizing of power production and the ease of setting these up, are there any other benefits to using mirco-inverters as opposed to a standardized single inverter system? I've heard that if one panel is shaded the rest continue to produce with the micro-inverters. Is this true?


Go to this link of the Enphase system in the above picture:

 http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/nuU71300

Scroll down to the image of the 43 panels. When no power is being produced the image of the panels is black. As power is produced each panel starts turning blue and turns a brighter blue as the power of each panel increases. The wattage being produced, of each panel, is also displayed.

If you click on the two buttons to the right of the tab that reads Time-lapse , you can watch shadows pass over this system as the panels change color. There is some shading from trees, this time of the year. (you can also slow down the speed of the display or even mannually control the speed of the display - see the options at the bottom of the panel display)

This shows that if one panel is shaded the rest continue to produce power.
Logged
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP © 2008 Solar Power Forum, Powered by SMF 1.1.7 | SMF © 2006-2009, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!