APsystems featured in Solar Builder’s new Rooftop Report

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Solar Builder Magazine’s new “Rooftop Report” is out, featuring APsystems advanced microinverter technology.

APsystems Director of Engineering Christopher Barrett contributes “Get Connected: Data Monitoring in a Wireless (and sometimes wired) World,” an in-depth look at the challenges of gateway data collection in the home solar environment.

Also look for the article “Time Hacks for Installing MLPE,” features labor-saving tips and tricks for solar installers, and a report from Solar Builder’s Chris Crowell on the rapid-shutdown features built into the APsystems microinverter platform.

Find the “Rooftop Report” online here, and look for hard copies bundled with the next issue of Solar Builder Magazine, and distributed at the upcoming Solar Power International conference in September.

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Why microinverters are a good option for commercial solar projects

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Screen Shot 2016-04-26 at 1.52.14 PMSafety and NEC compliance, system monitoring, energy harvest – count the reasons for the popularity of microinverters in the MLPE marketplace.

APsystems and Solar Power World Online recently collaborated on an article and informational webinar discussing these and other advantages of microinverter technology. The webinar event was hosted by Christopher Barrett, technical services manager for APsystems USA.

Read the article here, then sign up to watch the archived webinar and find out why installers worldwide choose APsystems for the residential and commercial customers.

Why microinverters are a safer design for solar

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Solar power is gaining a coalition of fans, their numbers growing as PV spreads around the globe. But many emergency responders aren’t yet sold, and understandably so. They, and others, are concerned with the electrical safety of these new and often unfamiliar systems. The idea of high-voltage DC sizzling across a rooftop is a stark prospect for anyone who might come in contact with a PV array while battling a building fire, or even performing routine maintenance.

APsystems-supportSeeing the need for safety standards, regulators enacted “Rapid Shutdown” requirements (found in NEC 2014 690.12) to protect first responders from any high-voltage DC hazards that might remain after AC service has been disrupted or shut off. While manufacturers have responded to NEC 2014 with varying strategies–including add-on “DC combiner boxes” for string inverter arrays–one popular PV product already has Rapid Shutdown built into every unit: the microinverter.

When the AC circuit goes down for any reason, each unit in a microinverter array performs its own shutdown function in just 100 milliseconds–100 times faster than the code-specified standard of 10 seconds for shutdown.System voltage at shutdown is about 30V DC, meeting the stringent NEC 2014 requirement and well below the 80-V threshold generally considered safe for contact.

chrisSafety doesn’t end there. Microinverters also offer safety advantages when it comes to the DC conductor requirement in the standard. For example, a system designed using APsystems microinverters will have no DC conductors energized more than 5 ft in length within a building or more than 10 ft from the array, which meets the NEC 2014 standard (and is already looking ahead to NEC 2017).

Also, any present low-voltage lines will be located beneath solar modules, eliminating the chance of contact during rooftop activity.
Powerful, reliable, economical, microinverters have had plenty to recommend them since they entered the MLPE product field. As electrical codes evolve to protect responders and homeowners alike, the humble microinverter is not only meeting these tough new standards, but anticipating them.

By: Christopher Barrett, engineering and technical services manager for APsystems USA. Contact him at christopher.barrett@apsystems.com.

To learn more, watch his webinar presentation here. 

Solar Builder highlights APsystems chip-based design

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Levelized Cost of Energy — the total cost of a PV system’s installation and maintenance over its lifetime, divided by the amount of power produced – is the industry standard for measuring a PV system’s value.

Individual components like microinverters are key to the formula.

In its new story “LCOE Heroes: How inverters drive down PV levelized cost of energy,” Solar Builder magazine considers how the proprietary APsystems chip-based design means better long-term value for installers and end buyers.

LCOE-articleIt all starts with the Field Programmable Gate Array chip, which does so much of the microinverter’s work that each APsystems unit can be built with about 30 percent fewer discrete components than other brands.

That means savings at the supply and manufacturing level that cascade into real savings for customers.

“The FPGA architecture allows multiple, distinct processes to run in parallel on the same chip,” Jason Higginson, senior director of marketing at APsystems, tells the magazine. “This cuts down significantly on the number of internal components. This again is a significant savings at the supply-chain level as fewer components must be sourced to manufacture each unit, while also gaining an increase in reliability.”

Read more on APsystems chip-based microinverter design and its effect on levelized system costs at Solar Builder magazine online.

Five common mistakes that can ruin your PV installation

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Mistake No. 1:

You don’t understand the voltages of microinverters in relation to modules. Microinverters operate in a specific voltage window, and give optimal performance with modules designed for the same range. Having an undersized or oversized module may affect production and potentially cause output “clipping.”

 

Mistake No. 2:

You think of monitoring as an “add-on” rather than an integral part of the system. The homeowner likes to know the solar array is working properly and efficiently, and the installer needs it to help diagnose problems (and possibly gives the installer a way to sell a service package). Some installers do not include monitoring in their installations, which leaves both installer and homeowner flying blind. Make monitoring a priority.

 

Mistake No. 3:

You install the gateway device in a poor location. Communication units that relay module performance data need to be sited properly to facilitate strong Power Line Communication between the PV system components.

 

Mistake No. 4:

You set up the communication unit incorrectly. Always make sure to designate inverter numbers and configure local grid parameters properly, to prevent crosstalk with other systems in the area.

Mistake No. 5:

You don’t know your local codes and jurisdictions. Some inspectors may be using 2008, 2011 or 2014 NEC codes, based on state adoption. This could affect the connections and any safety measures needed. Always make friends with the inspector.

 

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Solar Builder magazine honors APS microinverter installation

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APS microinverters power the uber-green Grow Community, a runner-up in Solar Builder magazine’s 2014 Project of the Year awards.

Solar-Builder-POYThe roof-mount installation earns a feature in the magazine’s new issue, on newsstands now.

“We wanted to deliver a product that both was designed to be extremely energy efficient but also had the idea of solar in mind at the time of design,” project manager Greg Lotakis tells Solar Builder. “We started at the roof, asked how many panels we could get on it, designed the roof for that, [estimated] what we expected [to] produce, and then we used that energy budget and worked backwards into the house. What we are really striving to do: deliver a really healthy, energy-efficient home that has the ability to be net zero with solar.”

Grow Community is already the largest planned solar community in Washington state, with more solar on the way in two new neighborhoods now under development.

The installation includes 260-watt modules by itek Energy and racking by SunModo.

The project is being developed by Asani LLC, with construction by PHC.

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No competition? We beg to differ.

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The US microinverter market is dynamic and rewards innovation, APS VP Michael Ludgate tells Greentech Media — and GTM agrees. Michael is one of several industry insiders asked to comment on the state of the growing microinverter field and claims by one of the “big guys” that the battle for the market is over.

No competition? That’s news to us — and our many satisfied customers.

“As we enter new markets across the U.S., we’re enjoying tremendous year-over-year growth,” Michael tells GTM. “We’re also profitable, a measure of success that seems to elude some of the more vocal players.”

Read the whole story here.

APS distributor Blue Frog Solar featured on local business journal

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APS distributor Blue Frog Solar of Poulsbo, WA, and its Simple Solar program got some great press this week with an in-depth feature in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal.

The KPBJ gives a comprehensive look at the incentives that make Washington solar such a great deal — and Simple Solar, which makes it easier than ever to make the move to energy self-sufficiency. It’s a great move for both existing homes and new construction.

As the Business Journal notes:

Blue Frog is collaborating on the largest residential solar project in Kitsap County — Bainbridge Island’s Grow Community, a project of real estate development and investment firm Asani. It’s an example of effectively designing and building homes to accommodate rooftop solar panels.
“We knew from the outset that our goal was to create a net-zero community using solar,” says Marja Preston, senior director of development at Asani and owner of a solar home at Grow. “So everything there was designed, including the apartments, so we could get enough solar panels on the roof to provide all the energy needed for the homeowner.”

Blue Frog’s Simple Solar program and partner installer A&R Solar of Seattle count on advanced microinverter technology from APS in all installations — including Grow Community, now the largest planed solar development in Washington state.

Read the whole story here.  

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Sun & Wind Energy bullish on APS microinverters

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63Microinverter technology is the future of solar, and APS microinverters are in the vanguard of this trend.

APS is among the companies surveyed in “Two Groundbreaking PV Technologies,” a feature article in a recent edition of Sun & Wind Energy magazine. The report on module-level power electronics – the catch-all category for microinverters and DC optimizers – touts the growth of the global microinverter industry.

The magazine cites technical developments, cost reduction and the range of new integrated PV products as among the factors driving the MLPE industry.

“Our success in the global market demonstrates that microinverters are the new paradigm for PV power inversion,” Paul Barlock, APS senior vice president, tells Sun & Wind Energy. “Microinverters are the best solution for all rooftop applications.”

The magazine goes on to discuss the APS YC 1000, the world’s first true 3-phase, 4-panel microinverter, due to the domestic market in 2014.

Read the whole story here.

APS microinverters are Solar Builder’s cover story for July/August edition

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UnknownAPS has reimagined the possibilities of the solar microinverter, and the national media are taking notice. Solar Builder magazine features APS microinverters on the cover of their July/August edition with a lengthy feature story, “Rethinking Microinverters: APS America changes the game with microinverters that power multiple PV modules.”

The cover story touts our advanced APS microinverter technology and the real per-watt costs savings that come with our dual-module microinverter units.

“Our big leap forward was to be able to do a dual that is not twice as big as the single,” APS CEO Kelly Samson says in the story. “There’s a lot of dual use of parts inside that box. The box is 60 percent bigger than a single. That does a lot of magic things for you — makes the box smaller and lighter, makes it more efficient, less costly to manufacture, cheaper to ship and we have a significant price advantage over the competition.”

Read the whole story here.