Cost and Reliability Advantages of ACPV: Experiences from the Field

Cost and Reliability Advantages of ACPV:  Experiences from the Field

This presentation provides an educational overview of ACPV and describes a typical PV system installation utilizing AC modules. 

ACPV is a new solution to rooftop solar that provides homeowners and businesses a simpler way to go solar.  ACPV features the use of microinverters on every solar panel to convert DC power to grid-compatible AC power. This presents many advantages over central inverters, including better energy harvest, module-level monitoring, as well as improved safety and reliability.

The newest solution in this field is an AC module with preinstalled microinverters. Arriving at the job site as a complete assembly, these solutions require no separate power electronics to install. Because of the simplicity of installation, AC modules open up the solar market to a whole new field of solar installers. The ease of installation, long life and enhanced performance and reliability of ACPV systems greatly reduce the system’s overall cost of energy.

The presentation will cover the following aspects:

• Design – features of ACPV that enable greater design flexibility for residential and commercial sites
• Safety --grounding, anti-islanding and system protections for fire prevention
• Reliability — granular, module-level monitoring that improves visibility and virtually eliminates system downtime
• Installation – field example of an AC module installation demonstrating the reduced time and cost to install ACPV