This current is potentially life threatening. Solar panels are connected in series before they are fed into a central inverter, typically with an effective nominal rating of 300-600 VDC (volts of direct current). Unlike central inverters, if there is something wrong with either one of the solar panels or the micro-inverter that sits on the back of it, the rest of the solar system is unaffected and still up and running. There are even mobile applications that enable you to monitor your PV system when on the road. Continuously analyzing the health of the solar system can pave the way for additional tweaks and performance improvements. Web-based monitoring on a panel-by-panel basis is usually available both for homeowner and installer. You don’t have to worry about restringing or getting a second central inverter installed.Ĭentral inverters come in limited sizes – you might end up having to pay for one that is much bigger than what you actually need.
Micro-inverters typically come with a warranty of 20-25 years – 10-15 years longer than central inverters.Įxpanding your solar system with more solar panels later on is easier with micro-inverters. Since micro-inverters are not exposed to as high power and heat loads as central inverter, they also tend to last significantly longer. When MPPT is applied to each individual panel, as opposed to the solar system as a whole, performance will naturally increase. MPPT is a technique used to find the right voltage – the maximum power point. In other words, the performance of a solar panel is dependent on the voltage load that is applied from the inverter. One of the tricky things about solar cells is that voltage needs to be adjusted to light level for maximum output of power. Likewise, coverage issues such as shading, dirt, snow and even slight orientation mismatch on one of the solar panels would not bring the entire solar system down. If one solar panel in a string had abnormally high resistance due to a manufacturing defect, the performance of every solar panel connected to that same central inverter would suffer.