The era of the dumb inverter is over, the era of the smart inverter has arrived. Enphase is leading the way with advanced microinverter technology with enormous intelligence. But what exactly does that mean? What are the benefits and what can we expect in the future? We asked Martyn Berry, European Director of Technical Services at Enphase Energy.
Why is the smart inverter the future?
‘For me, this story starts with the people who invest in installing solar panels on their roof. They assume that it’s done professionally and that the system produces as much green electricity as possible throughout its life. In many cases, for example in projects on the roofs of social housing or apartments, the “personal connection” with a solar power system is hardly present. But those users also want certainty about a good yield. Here the inverter is the determining factor, and in particular how smart it is.’
How quickly will the dumb inverter die?
‘As far as Enphase is concerned, that has already happened. Our microinverters take care of maximizing the production of electricity per solar panel, but that is only one of the functionalities of the Enphase architecture. Solar is often sold as a “fit to forget” product. After installation you won’t have to worry about it anymore. In reality, that is not the case of course; you have to be honest about that. It’s an electrical system. It always requires monitoring and maintenance. Something goes wrong – on the roof, but also in the fuse box for example – can never be ruled out. From that perspective too, over the years we have added more and more intelligence to our technology.’
How does this manifest itself in Enphase’s monitoring system?
‘The brain is IQ Gateway, the network hub of our inverter technology. This is a box that is placed at the meter and has a connection with the Wi-Fi in the house. It collects the large amount of data generated by our microinverters and sends it to our Enphase app. This translates the data into information for the users, for example about the current performance of their PV system, also per solar panel. In addition this app facilitates, among other things, making direct contact with your installer or our helpdesk.’
How advanced is this technology?
‘We don’t see it as an afterthought, but rather as one of the aspects with which we can add value and distinguish ourselves in the market. Enphase therefore continuously invests in improving the user interface; in user friendliness and a clear layout. We also regularly add new functionalities. In addition, increasing the speed in performance is an item. We are still 5 seconds away, but are getting closer and closer to providing real-time information to our end customers and installers. IQ Gateway also communicates with Enphase itself.’
Why?
‘By collecting large amounts of data, we learn a lot about how our products work in practice. We do this in the background, using state-of-art technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. This way we can improve our systems. I’m not just talking about future generations, but also about implementing software updates for our installed base via the cloud. But it’s more than that. We are also increasingly able to fix some hardware failures remotely. This is beneficial for the owner of a solar energy system, but also for the installer. After all, in this way we save them costs.’
European grid operators are struggling with a lack of capacity of the power grid and peaks in the production of electricity as a result of the rise of wind turbines and solar panels. How does Enphase respond to this with its inverters?
‘If the power grid becomes congested, the voltage will increase. This can result in switching off a solar energy system. You see this happening increasingly in the Netherlands and Flanders, among other places. So what you want is to dynamically manage your solar installation; control it in such a way that it does not stop completely or jumps into failure mode during peaks, but switches back to a level where you can still benefit from the solar power you generate. This requires connectivity and intelligence, a smart inverter. Our latest inverter – the IQ8 – is equipped with a microprocessor that is so fast that it can even make its own mini power grid. As a result, a solar system will never switch off.’
Increasing your self-consumption – using the solar energy you produce yourself – is also a solution, for example by integrating various sustainable techniques such as solar panels, a battery and a heat pump...
‘That’s right and our inverter technology will have a central role in monitoring, controlling and managing such an integral sustainable energy system to enable households making maximum use of the energy they generate. We are developing that technology now and it is coming soon. Ultimately, Enphase wants to be a party that provides end-to-end solutions for smart energy management of homes. That is why we already offer charging technology for electric cars and home batteries.’
The sale of batteries is exploding in various places in Europe such as Germany, Italy and Flanders. What does that mean for your inverter technology?
‘Each Enphase Battery contains multiple bi-directional microinverters to convert the energy from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). That makes them robust and safe. The battery is also easy to expand. In this way the storage capacity can grow with the electrification of a home and more energy can be stored in the future. The battery management system works seamlessly with Enphase microinverters to get the most out of your solar panel system. In this combination of our inverter and storage technology, we are constantly taking new steps in the development of new intelligent applications such as optimizing self-consumption based on weather forecasts and the energy profile of the household. But also, for example, enabling consumers to contribute to stabilizing the power grid and reap the financial benefits, both individually and by creating virtual power plants.’
You outline a future in which Enphase inverters will play an increasingly important role in a sustainable energy system. That must have implications in the field of cybersecurity.
‘That obviously has our full attention. Millions of our devices have already been installed and they use the Internet of Things. Therein lies a lot of their power, but if you don’t properly secure this kind of critical technology, the consequences can be huge. We therefore operate at the front line of cybersecurity to shield our products from malicious parties. What helps is that we are an American company. In the US the standard in cybersecurity is very high, in terms of knowledge and also with regard to the laws and regulations that we have to comply with. I dare to say that our inverters are not only the smartest, but also the most secure in the world.’