Enphase Energy Unveils Most Efficient Microinverter in World

June 7th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan

I got to speak with Enphase Energy CMO Bill Rossi last week about the company’s new microinverters and changes to the Engage System the company unveiled officially yesterday. Enphase is the market leader in solar microinverters and, while microinverters may not turn most people on, they are very important.

The news Bill had to share on the company’s new product was pretty exciting and I think it’s worth a little attention.

New Microinverters World’s Most Efficient, Increase Power Output 13%

The company’s new 215-Series Microinverters have set the world’s efficiency record. They have a 96% weighted power conversion efficiency (up from the 95% conversion efficiency of its previous record-holder, the M-190). A 1% efficiency improvement, as many of you may know, is a pretty big deal.

“At 215Wac, the new microinverter has an output that is 13 percent higher than previous generations, enabling compatibility with high-power 60-cell modules, such as 250W and 260W modules,” the company reports.

High-power 60-cell modules are apparently the most desired right now.

Simplified Engage System Makes Installations Easier, Faster, Cheaper

In addition to the new microinverters, Enphase has simplified and improved its patent-pending, trademark Engage System to help streamline solar installations. With technological improvements, the system is much easier, faster, and simpler to install. The company reports:

Available in North America with CSA certification and soon in Europe with VDE certification, the 215-Series Microinverter now addresses a large and growing global solar market. The 215-Series ACM model further simplifies installation by eliminating rack mounting, a separate system ground wire and DC cable management.

“Our new offering delivers exactly what installers have been asking for – a proven, no-compromise microinverter system that sets the bar for efficiency, offers ultimate design flexibility, is simple to install and is guaranteed for the lifetime of the solar system,” Enphase Energy CEO Paul Nahi says.

Unprecedented New Warranty

And, another big announcement from Engage is that it has extended its 100% uptime warranty from 15 to 25 years (traditional central inverters have a 5-10 year warranty and it typically costs $500 for a 5 year extension on that). Furthermore, it has extended the warranty to the whole system (including the Enlighten monitoring system). These are improvements are quite important for consumers and installers, as you can see in the video above.

“The 215-Series 25-year limited warranty guarantees that system owners will recognize the full value of their all-AC solar system over its lifetime.”

Engage is Growing

Enhasee is clearly taking good strides forward. It currently supplies about 20% of the California microinverter market, and most definitely a greater percentage of the national market. As I reported in March, it has now moved into the European market as well. It has a total of about 25,000 installations, 2,500 installer partners, and 200 employees (about twice what it had at this time last year).

For more on Enphase, its new microinverters, more videos or data, check out Enphase’s website.

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.