Maximising power output from solar panels

Question

There is an ongoing debate in the sector about how best to maximise the power from a solar panel and minimise shading effects: do you use a micro-inverter with built in MPPT or do you use a solar tracker. Both have cost implications, but what is your preference from a technical viewpoint?

Former Member · Answer

With many inverters having efficiences better than 95% I don't think you can say this is a big loss. If you don't want to upgrade wiring sizes to use the lower voltage (12V or 24/48VDC) then an inverter is the only way to go, sure you get double conversions taking place but in most cases the loss is small enough to not be an issue. Systems size obviously needs to take any losses into account but generous oversizing always seems to be the best policy anyway. I run my house as such and don't find that there is anything I am concerned about and the system will have more than paid for itself after 5 years of use. At 5 years plus I am expecting to see ageing effects with the batteries and they will eventually require replacement but that is a minimal expense given the overall benefits.

Maximising power output from solar panels

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