New Industry Products

8kW String Inverter Built Like a Micro Inverter

July 08, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

HiQ Solar, Inc. announced the new Liberty 480V 3-phase, 1,000-Vdc inverter. Aimed at commercial photovoltaic (PV) solar installations, it claims new benchmarks in ruggedness, power density and data reporting. With 8 kW packed into a NEMA6 enclosure and weighing only 24 lbs., the new product is designed for rooftop, carport and other locations where it can be mounted in almost any location. Adding to this, the sealed, waterproof and silent package is particularly suitable for hostile environments such as desert, coastal and high altitude locations. It has peak efficiency above 98.5%, and conforms to UL1741.

With a power density of 0.72 kW/kg, it has twice the power density of large string inverters and is therefore very price competitive with them. Where other string inverters parallel several strings together, the Liberty inverter handles two 4 kW single strings individually, providing separate monitoring, MPPT and arc detection for each. This means a level of management and monitoring well-suited for commercial-sized installations, with enough granularity to see issues as they arise without being swamped in data.

The HiQ Solar Liberty 480V PV inverter joins the existing HiQ 208V 3.5 kW Mini Inverter and is available now. The new product will be showcased at Intersolar North America in San Francisco, 8-10(th) July, 2014, Booth 8537.