SolarBridge Lauches Microinverters for a New Market

California, USA --The idea of combining power conversion electronics with solar panels to create AC panels has been kicked around for a while. But it hasn't taken off in the market partly because developing suitable inverters and making them in volumes has proven a serious challenge. That barrier is disappearing, however. SolarBridge Technologies, for one, announced Monday that it has begun producing its microinverters in volumes, a milestone for a company that delayed the product launch to improve the technology.SolarBridge is hiring Celestica to make the microinverters in China, where the Texas company recently set up an office in Shenzen. Microinverters are essentially the miniature version of central inverters that convert electricity from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) for feeding the grid. Instead of one inverter for a dozen or so panels, one microinverter serves one solar panel. That design also brings the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) function of an inverter to the panel level and has become an often-touted advantage by microinverter developer.

MPPT refers to an algorithm that calculates and adjusts the optimal power output of a solar panel or an entire solar array. In a typical solar array, where panels are connected in series, the poor performance of one panel lowers the MPPT level of the entire array. As a result, solar panels that are doing well will produce at the same level as the poor performing ones. With microinverters, the low MPPT of one panel won’t affect the MPPT of other solar panels. The result is a greater overall electricity production from an array.