Newsletter - October 2009

In This Issue



Product Announcement

Enphase D380 MicroinverterWe’re thrilled to announce the D380 “TwinPack”, a new product optimized for commercial installations. The D380 “TwinPack” is comprised of two Enphase Microinverters in a single enclosure and an innovative cabling system, further reducing Balance-of-System costs and installation time.

The D380 maintains the benefits of the award-winning per-module Enphase Microinverter but gives you twice the power at half the labor through the two-in-one design. Balance-of-System costs and reduced installation time are realized via a 50 percent reduction in the number of microinverter units, 33 percent fewer connections and junction boxes. The D380 further reduces installation time by introducing an innovative cabling system.

The D380 will be available in Q1 2010. Visit the Enphase website Downloads page to get more information on the D380, and register for the upcoming Introduction to D380 "TwinPack" webinar.

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Enphase Reliability

Enphase Reliability With all the interest in reliability of microinverters, we thought you might like to have some visibility into the focus that we at Enphase place on the quality and reliability of our product.

Please click here to read a white paper on the reliability of the Enphase Microinverter, and click here to watch our newest video – The Enphase Circle of Quality.

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Twitter, Facebook

Twitter, Facebook If you are looking to keep up with news here at Enphase, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any suggestions on what you would like us to write about, please drop us a tweet or post to our Facebook wall.

  • Twitter: http://twitter.com/enphaseenergy
  • Facebook: Enphase Energy

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Did You Know?

  • ... system owners can now renew their Enlighten subscriptions online System owners can now renew their Enlighten subscriptions online. System owners will be notified when their subscription is about to expire and can click on the “Renew now” button, or log in to Enlighten and choose "Account", then “Subscription”..
  • ... that a solar array's AZIMUTH is important? Azimuth is the difference, measured in 0-360 degrees, from true North (North being 0, South being 180, East being 090, and West being 270). In the Northern Hemisphere, solar modules should be aligned to true South (180 degrees) for maximum energy production.

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Featured Installation - Commercial

This commercial installation is at the Truckee Sanitary District, a wastewater utility in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. The system was completed by Premier Power, who chose the Enphase Microinverter System because of the benefits of increased reliability while operating under harsh conditions, and the ability to manage the performance of each module. The Enphase System was ideal for this installation where altitude, temperature, snow and storm debris present frequent challenges to system performance.

The 117 kW ground mount system has the modules installed at a 35 degree angle, six feet off the ground to help snow shedding in the winter. The installation was constructed by attaching the modules into panels of five each, before being lifted into place by crane.

Truckee Structure Bus Stop Ground mount structure in place

Truckee Panelized Modules Modules panelized and lifted into place

Truckee Placement of Panels Placement of panels on structure

Installation completed Installation completed

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Helpful Hint: STC Ratings

What is a PV module's STC rating, and what does it really mean? The STC (Standard Test Conditions) rating for a PV module's DC wattage is not a direct one-for-one to the inverter's AC wattage. STC ratings represent perfect laboratory conditions, rather than conditions that can be achieved under real world deployments. Therefore, a derate factor of 0.82 to 0.84 times the STC rating is generally used to estimate real world output. For example, an STC rating of 175W, multiplied by a derate factor of 0.85 is 148.75W.

In addition, there are other factors which might make a PV module produce less than expected power, including the pitch angle of the array to the horizon, the array's azimuth, and ambient temperature. Finally, every inverter has an efficiency rating less than 100%, so you would expect to see some losses during the conversion from DC to AC.

Due to the temperature differential, the PV module in Colorado, on a cold and sunny day, would outperform the same PV module used in Arizona, on a 100-degree day with no breeze.

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