Micro-Inverters

Micro-inverters are a smaller version of the usual solar PV inverter. On an average PV installation, a system will have a set number of panels and just a single inverter. All of the panels are wired together into the one inverter. With micro-inverters, each panel has it's own individual inverter. The inverters are very small and are mounted on the rails along with the panels on the roof outside.

Micro-inverter technology can offer you several key benefits over string inverter technology:

• If your roof has shading issues, by using micro-inverters you ensure that you only suffer yield loss on the panels that are shaded. On a conventional system a small amount of shading on a PV array lowers the yield for the entire array, not just the shaded part of the panel. Micro-inverters ensure that on a roof with shading issues the maximum possible output is achieved.
• If you have limited space or an awkward roof, micro-inverters allow you to fit panels on all aspects of your roof, so you can fit a system to roof that might otherwise have proven impractical.
• Micro-inverters give you far greater monitoring options than conventional string inverters. Monitoring of the PV array is highly enhanced as each module's performance can be viewed online, a capability not available with string inverters.

This provides users and installers with real-time detailed information to ensure that the solar system performance is optimised over the life of the installation. The information can be used to promptly detect performance issues and pinpoint the exact location and nature of the problem, which provides precise guidance for required maintenance, a capability not possible with string inverter systems.

The micro-inverter is equipped with a built-in wireless communication system that connects to the internet via a gateway to provide you with detailed performance information online from anywhere. The data is also monitored by the manufacturers, and should a problem occur they will contact you and let you know.

TDFM Solar use Enecsys micro-inverters. For more information on their products, please visit their website at www.enecsys.com.