Quality commercial inverters are paramount in the design of a commercial system. Some customers prefer multiple smaller inverters while other customers prefer a one single large inverter. For most states inverters must qualify in order for the customer to receive an incentive. As an example California equipment must be listed on the California Energy Commission’s Go Solar California website in order to qualify for the utility company’s incentive. For more information, see our incentives page.
Invert efficiently rage from 94 to 97 percent. A 2 or 3 percent difference in performance in a large system can amount to thousands of dollars over the life of the system. The older less efficient inverters have been proven over time, while the newer, more efficient inverters so great potential for the future. Other important factors when choosing an inverter are the warranty, ability network multiple inverters and system monitoring features.
SATCON
SatCon manufactures commercial solar inverters ranging from 30 to 500KW. This broad range of product choices available to installers, helps to maximize the power generated by the solar array, allows users to take maximum advantage of available financial incentives and shortens the payback cycle for the entire solar power installation. The units are grid-tied and line interactive, enabling them to convert direct current power from solar arrays to alternating current power that is compatible with the utility voltage for export to the grid. Compliance and certification to UL1741 and applicable ANSI and IEEE standards insures compatibility with the local utility as well as providing qualification for approval by the California Energy Commission.
ADVANCED ENERGY
AE’s Solaron(TM) PV inverter is the the first high-power, transformerless, grid-tie inverter designed to convert raw, solar DC power to high-quality, North-American AC grid electricity. With its robust, bipolar architecture and patented, soft-switching technology, the Solaron inverter achieves breakthrough 97% CEC efficiency and is NRTL certified to UL 1741-2005 by CSA International. A wide MPPT window ensures maximum, day-long processing power. And both local and remote data access enable operators to monitor the system’s remarkably high performance and reliability data-from anywhere at anytime.
SOLECTRIA
Solectria inverters supply renewable DG power electronic components and systems to OEMs system integrators and end-users in the renewable power market. Solectria inverters have a capacity from 1 to 100kW. Their 95.5% efficiency rating coupled with a reliable track record make them an excellent choice for medium sized commercial installations.
XANTREX
The Xantrex GT100 and GT250 incorporate an advanced Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm to maximize the energy harvested from a PV array. To reduce power losses during the conversion process, the inverter uses the latest switching devices and a high-efficiency transformer to achieve a weighted CEC efficiency of 96%. To ensure reliability, the Xantrex GT100 and GT250 and their sub-components are tested using thermal and vibration technologies to stress a product beyond its specifications. This enables Xantrex to develop products and test them to a much higher standard than other inverter manufacturers.