New Industry Products

SolarBridge Introduces Microinverter AC Module System

October 25, 2010 by Jeff Shepard

SolarBridge Technologies (SolarBridge), a developer of power conversion solutions for the solar industry, announced the launch of the SolarBridge AC Module System, a complete microinverter solution that the company says enables the industry’s first integrated ac modules with a full 25-year warranty. The company is partnering with market-leading photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers to bring ac modules to market. Kyocera Solar, Inc. (Kyocera) and SunPower Corp. (SunPower) are two of these partners, with additional companies at varying stages of joint product development.

SolarBridge-enabled ac modules increase PV system reliability and energy harvest, while reducing installation costs as compared to traditional, DC-based systems with central inverters. The SolarBridge Pantheon™ microinverter and PV-DockT&trade replace today’s junction box and are integrated directly onto the back of a solar module during module manufacturing.

"For solar energy to become truly mainstream among residential and commercial sites, installation and operating costs must come down, and energy harvest must go up," said Ron Van Dell, President and CEO, SolarBridge. "Achieving this requires an advanced design that increases system reliability and uptime, and simplifies installation. The SolarBridge AC Module System is a groundbreaking solution that will contribute to the growth of solar as a viable, affordable renewable energy choice."

With the SolarBridge AC Module System, module manufacturers can now offer their networks of dealers and installers a complete and differentiated ac module solution, allowing them to qualify sites that otherwise are not suitable for solar due to shading or roof orientation.

The SolarBridge AC Module System is covered by 36 patents (15 issued, 21 pending) and comprises the SolarBridge Pantheon microinverter, SolarBridge PV-Dock, SolarBridge Power Manager and SolarBridge Power Portal.

The SolarBridge Pantheon Microinverter is a low-profile, dc to ac power conversion device mounted on the back of the PV module with module-level maximum power point tracking (MPPT) that improves energy harvest up to 25% with 95.5% efficiency. The SolarBridge PV-Dock is a plug-and-play docking station for the Pantheon microinverter which nables drop-in integration of the Pantheon by the module manufacturer. The SolarBridge Power Manager is the on-site communications gateway that continuously monitors the PV system and manages communications with the Power Portal and third party systems. It is also smart grid-ready. The SolarBridge Power Portal is a web-based management system for installers, module manufacturers and system owners that provides detailed visibility into every site’s performance.

The SolarBridge Pantheon microinverter requires a tiny fraction of the bulk capacitance of traditional inverter architectures, enabling the use of long-life film capacitors, which combined with the Pantheon’s advanced thermal management and other reliability advances yields a microinverter with the same lifetime as the module to which it is attached.