See APsystems at Solar Power Northeast, Feb. 5-6 in Boston

APsystems brings the groundbreaking YC600 smart-grid and Rule 21 compliant microinverter to Solar Power Northeast, Feb. 5 in Boston.

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Setting a bold new standard for microinverter technology, the YC600 boasts an unprecedented 300VA peak output per channel with 60- and 72-cell PV modules. A wider MPPT voltage range than competing brands means greater energy harvest for homeowners, and the unit is shelled in a rugged, NEMA 6/IP67, powder-coated aluminum enclosure, bucking today’s trend of plastic casings. The YC600 builds on the successful APsystems line of multi-module microinverters, simplifying installation while reducing installation costs and time on the job site. See the YC600 at booth No. 405.

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Contact sales.usa@APsystems.com to set up a meeting during the convention, or just come by the booth and meet the APsystems team.

Solar Power Northeast is designed to serve and advance the PV solar market, by bringing together PV industry leaders, professionals, manufacturers, and service providers to explore business solutions, new technologies, policy initiatives, and other market factors.

Information: www.events.solar.

2017 Project of the Year Competition – $1,000 Award

Dear APsystems installer,

It’s been another great year for APsystems and we have you, our solar partners, to thank for it. You’ve put our advanced microinverter technology to work for customers in markets across the country.

Now it’s time once again to look back on the great solar successes of the past year and share your very best stories with the industry and the world.

 

Tell us about your very best project – what set it apart in terms of scale, design, power output, challenging conditions, or your creative application of APsystems microinverter technology.

We’d like you to submit the project details here, including a brief write-up about your best installation, or more – enter all the projects you like. Remember to include some high-res photographs and any close-ups showing our microinverters in action.  Your project can be completed or still in process. Entries will be judged by our APsystems team.

We’ll be honoring top projects in both Residential and Commercial categories.

And we’ll announce the APsystems Solar Project of the Year Award winners early in the new year through announcements and promotions that will highlight your project and your company. APsystems is committed to helping you grow your solar business even as we grow ours, so this is a cross-promotion opportunity you’ll definitely want to take advantage of.

The winner in each category will receive $1,000.

Our contest last year generated great interest from installers and brought out some fantastic projects; you can see the winners here.

Now we’re excited to present this competition, highlighting the very best APsystems microinverter installations of 2017.

Submit your project entries here by January 5th 2018. Please read the terms and conditions before entering.

If you have any questions, please contact our marketing coordinator.

Thank you for partnership and support, and for a great 2017 for our company and yours.
Your friends at APsystems USA

Happy Holidays from APsystems

Best wishes for a joyous holiday season and a very bright and happy New Year.

– Your friends at APsystems

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Completed Solar Install for Pennsylvania switch manufacturing plant

More than 2,200 solar modules … 673kW of power … and only one microinverter that could handle the job – the APsystems YC1000.

Congratulations to Cleaveland/Price for completing this impressive commercial array at their Pennsylvania switch manufacturing plant, using the industry’s leading true 3-phase microinverter.

Read full project installation story here.

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Proud to support Extend the Day for Rohingya Refugee relief #GivingTuesday

1028171554a_HDRBangladesh is facing a profound humanitarian crisis, and our partner nonprofit Extend the Day is helping bring relief to thousands of displaced persons there.

Extend the Day hopes to provide 10,000 handheld solar lamps for refugee families and children now living without electricity or other basic services. With these simple, inexpensive devices, we can help people in crisis benefit from clean, renewable solar power to improve their day-to-day lives.

APsystems is proud to support Extend the Day in its mission to bring the gift of solar lighting to this outstanding organization. One dollar from the purchase of every APsystems microinverter goes to Extend the Day to provide these small but powerful solar lamps.

During this holiday season and on this #givingtuesday, please consider a donation to Extend the Day through its online fundraising campaign to provide 10,000 solar lights to Rohingya refugees.

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Happy Thanksgiving

During this season of thanksgiving, may you and yours harvest more than just energy, but peace, love and joy as well.

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APsystems powers massive 3-phase array at Pennsylania’s Cleaveland/Price plant

When your customers are electrical utilities, you tend to think of power on a grand scale.

So no surprise the new solar array at Pennsylvania’s Cleaveland/Price switch manufacturing plant will take its place as one of the larger solar arrays on the local grid: 673kW.

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“We knew that the project would take a lot of manpower and planning. However, we also knew that Cleaveland/Price could engineer a system that was efficient enough to be energy friendly while saving costs on a regular basis. Our long-term goal is to produce 100 percent of our electrical energy consumption, using solar power at a substantially lower cost,” said Trish Conboy, Cleaveland/Price marketing director. “We will see success in being energy independent, while being environmentally friendly. Cleaveland/Price will be capable of manufacturing with substantially lower energy costs. This will result in sustained company growth and lower product costs to customers.”

Cleaveland/Price manufactures a range of high-voltage switch products for power utilities nationwide. The company’s sprawling manufacturing complex sits in a glade off forested Route 993 in Trafford, Penn., east of Pittsburgh.

The idea for solar came less than a year ago, Conboy said, when Cleaveland/Price realized solar power costs less than purchased power, regardless of Pittsburgh’s cloudy conditions.

“Most people in the Pittsburgh area assume that solar will not work,” she said. “The fact is, solar does work in Pittsburgh and can cost less than what utilities charge for power.”

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The first step was construction of a new standing-seam roof, covering most of the plant’s eight-building layout and providing the ideal platform for an expansive array.

Cleaveland/Price engineers designed the 2,245-module array themselves, and will handle the final electrical hookup. Local contractor Don Miller, Inc., was hired to complete the installation of modules and microinverters, which began in late September and should be completed by mid-autumn.

The array features Neo Solar Power 360W, 72-cell monocrystalline modules.

APsystems YC1000 microinverters were chosen for their true 3-phase power handling and multi-module design. Each unit will handle three modules, simplifying the installation.

Steve Cleaveland, company principal, said the APsystems units also offer low-voltage startup, an advantage over string systems and boosting solar harvest.

“It only takes 22V to start up the microinverter to produce AC, so it is ideal for Pittsburgh’s cloudy and low-light days,” he said.

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Cleaveland/Price’s engineering expertise also led to an innovative racking solution, with a combination of off-the-shelf and custom-fabricated parts.

Microinverters are installed on “bridge” brackets between two Power Wide Clamps, with modules connected using a power bolt in combination with a power clamp, both from Solar Connections International. Cleaveland/Price’s own CNC team fabricated the 748 connecting “bridge” brackets in-house.

When completed, the array’s first phase will power about 30 percent of the facility’s demand. The second phase will power the remaining demand, while the final phase will power the warehouse.

Thanks to Pennsylvania’s net-metering allowance, the array should allow Cleaveland/Price to “bank” power on weekends and evenings when the facility is closed.

“We designed or purchased all equipment,” Conboy said. “This resulted in a low-cost solar array, with a less than four-year return on investment. This includes the 30 percent first-year federal tax credit on renewable energy.”

LEADER IN HIGH-VOLTAGE SWITCHES
Cleaveland/Price has been serving the power utility industry since 1975, when founder Chuck Cleaveland started supplying parts for switches that had been discontinued by electrical giant Westinghouse.

Being engineers, the Cleaveland/Price team began improving on the original designs and manufacturing its own product line. Over time that led to a full portfolio of custom switches and components rated up to 345kV, for a variety of utility applications.

Their reputation for reliability has been a major factor fueling their growth. No matter where you live in the United States, you may well drive past a Cleaveland/Price product at some point during your day.

The Cleaveland/Price solar field will be among the larger grid-tied arrays on the local West Penn Power system. It will join other high-profile commercial solar arrays in a growing regional market.

A 1.9MW solar field developed by Crayola powers that company’s crayon factory in Easton, Penn., while Lincoln Financial Field, home to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, boasts an 11,000-module, 3MW array. Among utility-scale projects, Community Energy’s 6MW Keystone installation in Lancaster County provides clean power for an estimated 950 homes.

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As a state, Pennsylvania has climbed five places to No. 19 in total solar capacity nationwide, thanks to the completion of 38.8MW worth of new projects in 2016, the Solar Energy Industries Association says. An estimated 568MW will be developed in Pennsylvania over the next five years, SEIA projects.

Cleaveland/Price manufacturing plant
Location: Trafford, Penn.
Capacity: 673kW
Modules: Neo Solar Power 360W, 72-cell monocrystalline
Number of modules: 2,245
Microinverters: APsystems YC1000 true 3-phase
No. of microinverters: 748
System designer: Cleaveland/Price
Installer: Don Miller, Inc.

The 5-minute Solar Installation

A complete 6.93kW solar installation in under 5 minutes? That’s right … thanks to the magic of video editing, and APystems microinverters!

Our friends at NextGen Energy have posted a great new video that compresses a whole 24-module rooftop project into an exciting short feature. And with their multi-module, plug-n-power design, APsystems YC500 microinverters helped the NextGen team get the job done fast.

Sure, it took a little longer than 5 minutes in real time … but the APsystems microinverter installation was fast and efficient. Less time on the job site means big savings for installers and customers alike … and that’s a wrap!

APsystems microinverters installed in northernmost grid-tied solar project

APsystems 3-phase microinverters now power the northernmost grid-tied solar installation in the Americas – the Community Hall at Pond Inlet, Nunavut, latitude 72N.

Vancouver Renewable Energy (VREC) powered up the 590kW system in Canada’s newest and northernmost province in September.

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The 9.3kW community system features 32 SolarWorld 290-watt mono-crystalline modules and eight APsystems YC1000 true 3-phase microinverters.

In just three weeks the PV system had produced 590kWh of power, saving hundreds of dollars on the municipal power bill for the remote, 1,500-person hamlet. The community otherwise relies on a diesel “tank farm” and generator plant for its power needs – an expensive proposition now helped by clean, renewable solar and APsystems microinverter technology.

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The new array will be paired with a mural celebrating light, both from the sun and from qulliqs, traditional Inuit lamps that use animal fat for fuel, according to the Vancouver Renewable Energy blog.

Read the whole story here.

APsystems offers installers microinverter training in Escondido, CA

Note

This event has passed. Please contact training.usa@apsystems.com for details on upcoming events.

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APsystems and UMA Solar are offering 2 in-depth installation and setup training classes for CA solar installers. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to simplify PV system installation and save money with the industry-leading APsystems microinverter line.

You’ll also earn 2 NABCEP recurring education hours for attending a class! Free lunch provided. Fill out the form below to register.

Both classes are invited to Lunch & Learn with Neurio!

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DATE/TIME/LOCATION:

Date: November 8th

Times: 9:30 – 11:30 (this class is now full)
1:30 – 3:30 (Available)

Address: 236 N. Hale Ave., Escondido, CA 92029


WHAT YOU’ll LEARN:
  • APsystems microinverter technology and system design
  • Hands-on training with our dual-module microinverters
  • How to save thousands of $$ in BOS costs
  • Microinverter installation tools of the trade and best practices

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