Oxford commercializes its 20% more powerful solar panels in the US

Re:Oxford commercializes its 20% more powerful solar panels ... by torginus on Friday September 06, 2024 @08:42AM (#41465623)

Honestly, having recently become an owner of a solar installation, these things are a pain in the butt. Solar panels are connected in series, and the current (thus power) in the series is limited by the least productive element in the series, meaning if you have something as insignificant as a speck of dirt on the panels can limit the current of the panels by as much as 20%.

Having these things unattended in the middle of nowhere would cause major maintenance challenges.

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Re:Oxford commercializes its 20% more powerful solar panels ... by LeonM on Friday September 06, 2024 @08:46AM (#41465649)

Have you looked into micro-inverters? Where each panel has its own inverter, thus mitigating the 'weakest link' problem as you describe.

Any particular reason why you did/didn't go for a micro-inverter setup?

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Re:Oxford commercializes its 20% more powerful solar panels ... by torginus on Friday September 06, 2024 @10:29AM (#41466558)

I've watched videos about them, but the solar company didn't offer that kind of setup. I'm not sure how they would shake out cost-wise in years of ROI, versus a less efficient traditional string inverter.

I've also have three-phase AC at home, and battery storage, so not sure how it would combine with that.

I'd also need to look up installation requirements, particulary how it handles de-energizing the grid side when the power cuts out. My string inverter has current transformers installed at the connection point to the grid, so that it knows when the power goes away.

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