New Enphase microinverter for high-power solar panels will begin shipping in November

Enphase Energy announced that the Enphase IQ 7A microinverter for high-power monofacial and bifacial solar modules will begin shipping to customers in North America in November 2019. The IQ 7A microinverter augments the lineup of seventh-generation Enphase microinverters with support for modules up to 450 W, targeting high-power residential and commercial solar applications.

With a maximum output power of 366 VA (Volt-Amperes) and 97% CEC efficiency, Enphase IQ 7A microinverters can generate up to 14% more power than any previous generally available Enphase IQ microinverter. The IQ 7A microinverter maintains the compact form factor of the seventh-generation IQ family of microinverters and leverages the same groundbreaking semiconductor integration for high reliability and economies of scale. Enphase customers will be able to pair the IQ 7A microinverter with monofacial or bifacial solar modules, up to 450 W, from solar module manufacturers that are expected to introduce high-power variants of their products in the next three years. IQ 7A microinverters paired with high-power modules allow solar installers to reduce the number of modules required for a given system output and provide installers the peace of mind of knowing that Enphase microinverters can support future high-power modules.

“With IQ 7A microinverters, we continue to deliver on our vision of innovation, high quality and reliability, and a reduction in the overall cost of delivered electricity by making installation easy,” said Badri Kothandaraman, president and CEO of Enphase Energy. “We are proud to offer our customers this industry-leading technology that makes clean energy more affordable and accessible to all, with features that both homeowners and many commercial solar customers want.”

Enphase IQ 7A microinverters are compatible with 60-, 66-, or 72-cell solar modules and are designed to support residential as well as commercial solar applications. As with all Enphase IQ microinverters, the IQ 7A microinverter is powered by Enphase’s unique software-defined architecture and includes built-in support for Rapid Shutdown and compliance with California Rule 21 requirements.

Installers in the U.S. are excited about offering the Enphase IQ 7A microinverter to their residential and commercial solar customers:

“After years of installing Enphase microinverters and experiencing the continued product developments and improvements firsthand, we are very excited to have the opportunity to offer the next generation high-power IQ 7A micros,” said Wayne Irwin, director of engineering at Pure Energy Solar. “Enphase has helped make our installations more efficient, reliable, and safer, and the IQ 7A will enable us to take system design to the next level with higher wattage and higher efficiency modules. Enphase products, coupled with Pure Energy Solar’s focus on top-quality installations and customer service, continue to inspire our customers to write glowing reviews and provide abundant referrals.”

“We only deploy Enphase microinverters in our commercial solar systems, and the Enphase IQ 7A microinverter will allow us to scale to higher power 72-cell modules on our proprietary ground-mount systems and deliver more output to our customers,” said Jim Straeter, president of Ag Technologies, Inc. “We started using Enphase in 2012 and have never looked back since installation is simple, and the technology is very reliable. The systems we build are up to 1 MW in size, and Enphase Enlighten monitoring gives us the pinpoint-accuracy required for efficient operations and maintenance work on systems with thousands of micros.”

‘“The new Enphase IQ 7A inverters will allow us to maximize production of the high-power modules we use by providing greater power during peak sun hours, which yields in a greater return on investment for our customers,” said Carlos Martinez, owner of Solar Roots in Puerto Rico. “The customers we serve understand that solar is an economic decision, and they appreciate that we use Enphase to design solar systems that fit their energy needs without having to buy more solar than they need.”

Enphase microinverters are subjected to a rigorous reliability and quality testing regiment with over one million hours, the equivalent of more than 100 years of test cycles. The company’s microinverters are designed to be long-lived energy assets, expected to be operational in heat, high humidity, salty air, extreme cold, and across the harshest climate conditions. To further help ensure quality and durability, Enphase microinverters do not contain complicated moving parts or easily breakable components, such as fans.

The company announced in May that it planned to release its grid-agnostic Ensemble system in select North American cities around December 2019.