Enphase Energy Micro-inverter System
More efficient solar
Enphase Energy Micro-inverter System main
Enphase Energy reaps 5 to 25 percent more power from solar roofs by placing a small inverter—which changes DC current to AC—under each panel. Most systems use one big inverter, which requires a wiring setup that limits each panel’s output to that of the worst performer. To shrink inverters, Enphase replaced some analog parts with digital ones. From $200; enphaseenergy.com
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Awesome product! I saw them at Solar International 2008 in San Diego. They have an excellent product and offer a full line of support; Inverter, Energy Management, Web based reporting... Yeowsir! I want this on my roof!
from Decatur , Illinois
The missing link between the panel and the power company grid . Fantastic product and conservatively priced .
It is way too expensive.
YES! they have finely solved one(among many) achillies heel of solar!
it is pretty expensive; but adding extra solar panels would be easier and cheaper because the whole system wouldn't have to be rerouted and you wouldn't have to replace the the exsisting inverter.
As a dealer and installer of solar energy systems, I want to bury the rumor that the Enphase micro-inverters are "way too expensive" or even "pretty expensive". After deducting the costs of DC combiner boxes, expensive wire & conduit, and time spent fiddling with string design, the cost is ABOUT THE SAME to install a PV system using Enphase inverters. We're talking a difference of a few hundred bucks for a $30k-$40k system, plus the customer gets the communications unit and a year free of monitoring. If you add in a year of Fat Spaniel monitoring to a system with a regular inverter, it may actually be more expensive than the same Enphase system.
The main drawback I see right now is that they are not compatible with enough solar modules. While we're happy to see the new M200 inverter working with Sanyo HIP 200W modules, it'd be nice to see some more compatibility with other high performance modules. Another drawback is that they have not been tested, and are therefore not guaranteed, to work with battery back-up systems.