There are very few components to a Solar PV system. They largely consist of:
Solar PV panels
- The main part of the system that generates DC electricity from daylight. They tend to come with manufacturers guarantees of 25 years (see below).
An Inverter:
- This converts the DC electricity into the safer AC electricity that is used by the grid. It is usually located in the loft and is about the size of two shoe boxes.
A Generation Meter:
- This measures how much electricity is generated by your system and is about the size of two packets of cards. It is usually located next to your consumer unit.
Most Inverters come with a manufacturers guarantee of just 5 years, with an option to extend. However, there is a different, newer, type of inverter: the Enecsys Micro-Inverter. There are several advantages of micro-inverters, including:
- They allow each panel to be monitored individually thereby enabling you to maintain your system more easily and ensure that it is operating at its best throughout its lifetime.
- The enable the system to maximise the power generated from each panel, even if some panels are affected from shading.
- They tend have a longer life span than traditional string inverters. String inverters will generally need replacing during a solar PV systems lifespan, whilst micro inverters shouldn’t.
- They are easier to install as they do not require large DC to AC connection wiring.
A typical inverter for a 2kWp system will cost around £1,000 and has a high probability of needing replacing during the lifetime of the solar PV system. Thus, we can safely assume that the cost of a string inverter during the life of a solar PV system will be £2,000 in total.
The cost of one single micro-inverter from Enecsys is £200, and it comes with a manufacturers guarantee of 20 years. However, in a 2kWp system, we will have 10 panels and thus will need 10 inverters, bringing the total cost to £2,000. Thus, given the life expectancy of the Enecsys micro-inverter versus a more traditional string inverter, the relative cost is the same.
However, there are other advantages:
- Micro inverters are cheaper to install as they require no dangerous DC to AC wiring
- Micro Inverters make the system cheaper to maintain as the system, and any problems, can be easily identified and rectified
- Micro inverters increase the performance of any system, especially those that are affected by shading. It is estimated that a Micro Inverter will increase the performance of any system by up to 20%.
A Micro Inverter
The Monitoring System
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