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/nuU71300Scroll 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.