The three main inverter options available for residential and commercial solar installations are string inverters microinverters and power optimizer systems.
Solar panel string inverter.
Unlike string inverters where panels share a single inverter microinverters are dedicated to a single solar panel.
Inverters convert the dc electricity that your solar panels produce into appliance friendly ac electricity.
In a solar pv system with a string inverter each panel is wired together into a string and multiple strings normally up to three can be connected to your central inverter.
A solar panel may reduce its energy production since it is faulty or due to shading.
A panel string is a group of panels wired into a single input on your inverter.
The inverter appropriately called a string inverter has three string inputs.
For example this grid tied system contains 24 mission solar 360w panels and one sma sunny boy 7700w inverter.
There is typically only one or possibly two string inverters on each residential solar panel system.
A string inverter is a standalone unit typically installed close to your fuse box and electricity meter and creates alternating current ac from strings of panels.
What is a micro inverter.
Each string carries the dc power the solar panels produce to the string inverter where it s converted into usable ac power consumed as electricity.
A micro inverter is an inverter that pairs with a single solar panel to manage the dc to ac power inversion for that individual panel.
Each string inverter has a range of voltages at which it can operate.
String inverters solar panels are installed in rows each on a string for example if you have 25 panels you may have 5 rows of 5 panels.
And voltage is handled by the inverter.
When your panels produce energy it all gets sent to a single inverter which is usually located on the side of your home in a garage or in your basement.
They are connected to multiple solar panels forcing the performance to be equal to the worst performing panel.
Pros and cons of string inverters.
Sma sunny boy string inverters which control the array from a centralized location.
One of the key differences to understand is stringing solar panels in series versus stringing solar panels in parallel.
This means that the performance of the solar panel is reliant on accurate maximum power point tracking or mppt by the inverter.
Multiple strings are connected to one string inverter.
A device used with solar arrays to convert the energy that is generated direct current to usable electricity for a home alternating current.
Solar systems with micro inverters have small inverters installed to each solar panel on the roof.
Historically string inverters are the most commonly installed worldwide.
