Over the years Infinity Solar has stayed extremely loyal to SMA as their reliability, durability, efficacy and back up service is second to none. We have seen many different inverters on the market however at Infinity Solar we have made an uncompromising commitment to quality. For this reason SMA is used in more than 98% of our systems both on and off-grid.
In the last few years there has been a large amount of cheap inferior inverters dumped onto the Australian market. In most cases, the owners of these inverters are unaware of the inefficiencies that are inherent with these poor quality inverters. An inverter's efficacy and reliability is just as important as the quality of the solar panel selected. Every day we see consumers getting caught up in their panel selection while they pay very little attention to the most important part of their system, the inverter. A well performing high yielding solar system is a combination of good quality panels and inverter.
A Brief History
SMA was founded in 1981 and has its international headquarters in Kassel, Germany. It currently has 19 subsidiaries world wide. Since 1981 the solar industry has undergone massive expansion. During this growth SMA has been leading the way in manufacturing the most reliable and efficient inverters on the market.
SMA in Australia
SMA Australia is located in North Ryde, Sydney and provides technical and sales support to both Australia and NZ.
Manufacturing and Technology
The inverter is technologically the most important component in any solar power system: it converts the direct current generated in photovoltaic cells into alternating current suitable for the grid. In addition, it is an intelligent system manager, responsible for yield monitoring and grid management. SMA Solar inverters are characterised by a particularly high efficiency of up to 99 %, which allows for increased electricity production?
As the penetration of grid-connect solar power systems increase, the local electricity providers need to ensure that their network is not adversely affected by solar inverters exporting poor quality electricity onto their grid. SMA is leading the world in the development of smart inverter technology that can actually help the power quality of an electricity network. This technology is currently being used very successfully in many European countries.
As most renewable energy forms (e.g. solar, wind, hydropower) generate direct current electricity, the inverter is an essential system component to transform electricity from DC to AC for use in the local electrical network. For this reason the correct inverter selection is vital to ensure that you make the most out of every ray of sunshine. In 2011 SMA became the first manufacturer to reach 99 percent maximum efficiency with the new Sunny Tripower 20000TL High Efficiency inverter. With an increasing amount of large scale solar projects coming online SMA continues to invest millions of dollars into research and development to ensure that they stay at their current number one spot in the world. Not only does SMA lead the world in grid-connect inverters but also in grid backup and also off-grid inverters.
Recent SMA Projects
The White House
Since 2003, the White House in Washington DC has produced solar energy. A PV system as well as a solar-thermal station is installed on the roof of the main administration building. The grid-connected PV system has an output of 10 kilowatt peak (kWp) and provides some parts of the Presidential residence with solar energy. With three Sunny Boy 2500U devices, SMA delivered the best fitting inverters for this system. Equipped with the OptiTrac MPP control, the PV generator will always be operated at the optimal power point, even under fluctuating weather conditions.
Vatican City
The Vatican supports the worldwide promotion of solar power. The PV plant on the roof of the Papal Audience Hall, Paul VI, is as large as a football field. 2,394 modules with a total power output of 220 kilowatt peak (kWp) are installed there. The solar power produced roughly corresponds to the yearly demand of 100 households. The system proves that photovoltaics and the protection of historical buildings go hand in hand.
The SMA Sunny Mini Central and Sunny Boy inverters are most suitable for a modular design allowing a flexible plant installation in small decentralised units. The integrated intelligent temperature management, OptiCool, guarantees maximum performance. Moreover, due to the MPP tracking control OptiTrac, the Location inverters operate at the optimal power point at any time.
Manufacturing made Green
The PV system “Tiber Targhe” is located in the middle of the green region Umbria in the heart of Italy. Since 2008, the screen-printing house Tibertarghe, in the medieval village Città del Castella, has produced sustainable solar energy on its factory roof. The monocrystalline modules are installed on an area of 3,000 square metres and have a total power output of more than 277 kilowatt peak (kWp). The optimal inverter technology for this roof-top system is the Sunny Mini Central from SMA. It's high efficiency and the flexible system design ensures maximum solar yields of more than 410,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year.
