Feb 21 2011
A new report from Lux Research states that while new technologies increase the power harvest in some solar applications, the hype has clouded their lofty up-front cost and poor efficiencies.
Titled, “Shorting Out the Myths of Solar Power Electronics: What Fits and What Fails,” the report helps project developers and solar installers determine, which technologies present them with lower prices and better performances in commercial, residential and utility markets. The lead author of the report, Matthew Feinstein also notes that tall claims of offering technologies with benefits are being made by developers who offer microinverter or MPPT technology.
To reach its verdict, Lux Research calculated the impact of various power optimizer configurations and inverters on its proprietary levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) model. This compares the cost incurred in solar generation against the other type of power plant. This information is then applied across three main classes of inverters and power optimizer configurations in commercial, residential and utility markets to determine where they function best and where they do not.
The key findings suggest that smaller solar applications significantly favor greater distributed-power electronics architectures and give microinverters an added advantage. A second finding suggests that microinverters are appropriate for the residential segment; string inverters are apt for the commercial segment, whereas for the utility segment, central inverters are best suited. Reliability is the most crucial factor that product developers and installers look for in old and new inverter technologies, followed by system performance and inverter efficiency.