Solar panel power systems are becoming incredibly popular in both residential and commercial projects. More and more, business owners and homeowners alike understand how much solar power boosts their energy efficiency while significantly reducing utility costs. Builders who handle both residential and commercial projects are called upon to incorporate solar into new builds. When your … Continued
The SolarEdge HD-Wave is our most popular inverter. While it’s not the least expensive option on the market (a title held by the SMA Sunny Boy), the HD-Wave’s power optimizers put in a ton of legwork to ensure your system always produces at maximum efficiency. Most people run into some hurdles and challenges during the … Continued
SMA has long been regarded as one of the most reliable string inverter manufacturers in the solar industry. In this article, we’ll review the SMA Sunny Boy, our pick for best inverter for “standard” grid-tied solar systems. The Sunny Boy shines in systems that won’t be affected by shading, panel orientation, or other concerns that … Continued
If you’ve spent any time researching solar energy, by now you’ve heard of an inverter. The inverter is like your solar system’s brain. It manages your power flow, controlling two kinds of power. DC—or direct current—power is the kind stored in batteries. It’s also the kind produced by solar panels. But you can’t use DC … Continued
We recently published our recommendations for our favorite off-grid inverters you can buy for solar applications. It quickly became one of the most popular articles on our site. So now we’re back with its counterpart: a review of the best solar inverters you can buy for grid-tie systems in 2021. These are the inverters you would … Continued
The latest addition to Enphase’s line of micro-inverters is here: the Enphase IQ7+. The IQ7+ has been upgraded to a higher 290W output (up from 280W), which allows you to pair it with slightly larger panels than the previous model allowed. The Enphase IQ line remains our go-to micro-inverter pick for grid-tie systems thanks to … Continued
If you are installing a solar panel system, selecting the right type of solar inverter will be a major decision in your investment. Inverters convert direct current (DC) energy generated by your solar panels into usable alternating current (AC) energy, essential equipment for solar powering. Follow this guide to compare the types of solar inverters, … Continued
Previously on this blog, we published a step-by-step walkthrough on how to properly size a solar electric system, which is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to design and build their own solar system. I want to follow up on that advice with some specific tips on designing a system around a SolarEdge inverter … Continued
In solar power systems, the inverter is like the brain of the system. It takes the DC (direct current) electricity produced by solar panels and converts it into AC (alternating current), a format that can be used to power your appliances and sent into the utility grid. Traditional inverters, called string inverters, are designed to … Continued
Designing a solar electric system is a complex process. We’ve written guides on how to size a grid-tied system, as well as sizing a battery bank for off-grid systems, which give you a pretty good idea of how much solar energy you need to produce to offset your energy consumption. But they don’t dive too … Continued