Commercial Inverters
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Residential and commercial solar installations differ primarily in the scale. Homeowners deal with 10, 20, maybe 30 solar panels. In a commercial system there can be much more. A different scale requires a different approach and equipment. This is why we have a special section for commercial solar inverters since they are usually more powerful than residential ones.
Why your system needs an inverter
An inverter is not only turns directional current from panels to directional, but also:
- ensures the safety of a system
- allows you to monitor the solar power production
- serves as gateway between a solar system and a grid
The wide range of different tasks require an inverter to be a high-technology device and its complex electronics makes it very vulnerable. It’s important to approach the choice of commercial solar power inverter responsibly. If the quality of the model you’ve chosen is subpar, it simply won’t be able to handle the flow of energy in a large system and eventually will break down. Solar inverters for commercial power systems have to be reliable and efficient so that you don’t lose too much energy.
Central and string inverters
The majority of commercial solar inverters are classified either as string or central inverters. A string inverter takes care of one string of PV modules – several panels connected together. A central inverter is similar to a string one, but supports several strings.
The main problem with string inverters is their inability to cope with shading effectively. If one panel is even partially shaded, the performance of the whole string goes down and there is nothing that a string inverter can do about it. With a big solar panel installation for manufacturing or commerce, the problem of shading becomes a burden, especially because commercial objets are often located in towns and therefore surrounded by other buildings.
The problem of shading has several solutions, however not all of them are suitable for a big-sized system.
- For example, parallel connection of panels limits the effect of shading only to the shaded module, but it is usually out of the question for commercial size installations.
- Power optimizers limit the effect of shading to one panel, but you’ll still need an inverter.
- A microinverter goes on top of each solar panel and converts DC to AC on the spot. The effect of shading applies only to an overshadowed module. Microinverters are very efficient, but end up being more expensive than most commercial solar inverters.
Sizing an inverter
When it comes to picking commercial inverters, solar experts recommend looking at the size of your system first. Just sum up the power of all the panels that will be connected to one inverter and you’ll get a number for the inverter's capacity – it is measured in Watts.
If you’re interested in commercial inverters, we have a variety of models to choose from.
Advantages of buying from us
- We have warehouses on both east and west coasts of the USA: California, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Missouri
- All orders are processed within 24 hours and shipped within 48 hours. Delivery usually takes between 4-7 business days
- We work only with trusted solar panel manufacturers