Tag Archives: inverters

rapid shutdown

Rapid shutdown: what you need to know

1 Reply
Reading Time: 3 minutes

If you’ve just installed a solar panel system or are looking at a picture of one, you may notice a box with an on/off switch that says “rapid shutdown.” But what does rapid shutdown mean, and why is it important for a solar panel system? In this article, we’ll give an overview of rapid shutdown requirements, how they vary by state, and list some popular inverter options that are compliant with rapid shutdown requirements.

Continue reading →
solar battery and inverter

Does your battery come with its own inverter?

Leave a reply
Reading Time: 4 minutes

While shopping for storage solutions, it can be hard to break down which products come with an integrated inverter, which will need an additional inverter, and how many boxes will be installed on your wall. This is one of the key factors to pay attention to as you’re comparing storage solutions, as it will impact the overall efficiency and cost of your battery setup, as well as how you integrate it into a solar panel system.

Here’s a breakdown of this info for some of the biggest storage companies in the market today:

Continue reading →
cheap solar panels

Cheap solar panels: how to get the lowest price per watt on the market

16 Replies
Reading Time: 5 minutes

You may be looking for cheap solar panels available in order to really cash in on solar power. And sure, when you install solar on your home or business, you can save thousands on your electricity bills. But going solar isn’t automatically cheap: buying solar panels to install on your roof typically costs thousands of dollars. It’s no wonder that the cost of solar is among the most important considerations for today’s homeowners. If you’re thinking about going solar and worried about prices, you’re probably wondering: what are the best value solar panels and will solar get even cheaper?

Continue reading →
cost of solar equipment declining over time

How have solar equipment costs declined over time?

Leave a reply
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Over the last decade, the costs of solar have decreased from over $8 per Watt in 2009 ($/W) to under $3/W in 2019 on EnergySage, a decline of more than 60 percent in ten years. Over this timeframe, a primary driver of the declining cost of solar in the US has been technological improvements in the actual hardware that’s included in solar energy systems: solar panels and solar inverters.

Continue reading →

Hybrid inverters: what you need to know

2 Replies
Reading Time: 3 minutes

There are plenty of options available when it comes to selecting a solar inverter: these inverters vary in size, efficiency, performance, and capabilities. So what’s the best solution for you? If you’re thinking about adding a battery to your solar panel system now or in the future, you may want to consider installing a hybrid inverter.

Continue reading →
solar inverter failure

What happens if your solar inverter fails?

1 Reply
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Solar energy systems are built to last and are designed to produce solar electricity reliably for 25 years or more. In some instances, though, individual components of a solar energy system may malfunction or break altogether. If you’ve installed solar, here’s what to do if your solar inverter fails. 

Continue reading →
energysage buyer's guide

Announcing the EnergySage Buyer’s Guide

1 Reply
Reading Time: 3 minutes

We at EnergySage are very excited to introduce to you our newest online, educational tool: the EnergySage Buyer’s Guide. Launched earlier this month, the Buyer’s Guide is a first-of-its-kind educational tool for researching and comparing different solar equipment. As a part of the product release announcement, we want to provide an explanation of what the Buyer’s Guide is, describe how you can use it, and offer some ways you might find it useful.

Continue reading →
different quality solar panels and inverters

Solar equipment: should you care what’s in your quote?

Leave a reply
Reading Time: 4 minutes

If you’re like many homeowners, you’ve likely received a knock on your front door to be presented with a solar sales pitch. At the end of the pitch, you walk away with a document displaying cost numbers and information about how to proceed. However, these types of quotes often neglect to disclose details about solar equipment–panels and inverters–that will actually be installed on your home.

Continue reading →
microinverters on a house

Microinverters: what you need to know

1 Reply
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Inverters are an essential component of any solar panel system. They’re responsible for converting direct current energy (DC) generated at your solar panels into usable alternating current (AC) electricity for your home’s appliances. When it comes to choosing an inverter solution for your solar panel system, there are a few options to consider. In this article, we’ll go over one of the more popular types of inverter technologies: microinverters.

Continue reading →
power optimizer on a solar panel

An overview of power optimizers

3 Replies
Reading Time: 4 minutes

To convert the direct current (DC) electricity generated by your solar panels into usable alternating current (AC) electricity for your appliances, you’ll need an inverter. There are multiple inverter options to consider when selecting solar equipment for your system. In this article, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of power optimizers, a popular module-level power electronic (MLPE) often paired with string inverters.

Continue reading →