When it comes to installing a solar pv system on your roof, your garage or wherever you choose to place the install, one of the most vital choices you will make which inverter you are going to install along with the panels. Whilst selecting the right panels is important, the system cannot work, no matter how good the panels are without an inverter. The solar panels convert daylight into DC electricity. The inverter will then convert this DC energy into useable AC electricity that can be used around the home just like grid bought electricity.
There are different types of inverters. Each one has it’s uses and benefits. Which type of inverter you install depends on the property you are putting panels on. The 2 main considerations are how many aspects of roof the installation is going to be placed on and whether or not there any significant shading issues.
If the install is going on an unshaded property and on 2 or less aspects of roof, the correct inverter to use would be a string inverter or a dual tracker inverter. This type of inverter would be perfectly sufficient in this situation. On the other hand, if the solar pv installation is to be placed over 3 or more aspects of roof or there are any significant shading factors, you should strongly consider using micro inverters or optimisers.
The reason for this is that micro inverters and optimisers isolate each panel individually. This means that only panels in shade are affected. Alternatively, string inverters and dual tracker inverters control an entire series of panels. This could potentially mean that unshaded panels will perform as though they are in shade.
Choosing the correct inverter is not just a matter of cost. It really could be the difference between your solar pv system working and not working
