Micro Inverters for Residential and Commercial Photovoltaics

Two new solar micro-inverter products for residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) applications were unveiled recently by Direct Grid Technologies, LLC.

“Our initial products feature the OEM and SMART DGA Series micro‐inverters for thin‐film PV manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers interested in offering turnkey systems,” said Frank Cooper, president of Direct Grid Technologies, Edgewood, New York. “Our innovative closed loop MOSFET planar micro-inverter design offers an unprecedented 360 watts of power. Our products have a low packaging profile for direct rear-PV panel mounting and low thermal emission that produce significantly less heat than other micro-inverters on the market. These design features equate to reduced component stress and result in highly reliable and efficient micro-inverters.”

The OEM 200 and 300 DGA Series consist of a stand‐alone unit that incorporates state‐of‐the‐ art technology and inverts PV DC voltage to AC, enabling a maximum of 240- or 360-watt power generation for direct grid-tied applications. Additional features include self-tuning maximum power point tracking (MPPT), auto-frequency detect and sync, and anti-islanding safeguards in the event of power outages or emergencies.

The SMART 200 and 300 DGA Series incorporate additional Echelon communication functionality to enable theft deterrence and remote PV monitoring via a separate access node gateway module and web‐based user interface.

“Direct Grid’s products are intuitive, offering simple direct panel mounting, color-coded parallel wiring and easy-join Multi-Contact connectors. For end-users, our micro-inverter solutions offer scalable freedom, allowing customers the ability to choose how many panels they wish to deploy. It makes a solar solution more affordable for people who want to be more green,” said Cooper.