Solar System Components

The panels

Solar panels are usually mounted on your roof and they transform the incoming sunlight into electricity. There are 2 main types of solar panels to choose from and both come with a 25-year efficiency warranty. Your solar representative can advise you on what solutions are available.

a. Mono-crystalline

These solar panels are made from a single silicon crystal and have a black appearance.

b. Polycrystalline

These solar panels are made up of multiple silicon crystals and have a dark blue appearance.

The panels

The inverter is the engine room of your solar system. It converts electricity from the solar panels into electricity that can be used in the home. There are 3 types of inverters - string inverters, micro inverters and power optimisers.

a. String inverter

A string inverter is installed on a wall and each ‘string’ of panels connects to this central unit. The efficiency of each ‘string’ of panels is determined by the efficiency of the lowest-performing panel so if one panel isn’t performing well (due to shading or a faulty connection) then the output of that entire ‘string’ of panels will be brought down. This style of an inverter is great for roofs that don’t have shading issues.

b. Micro inverters

Micro-inverters have a small inverter installed on the back of every solar panel in the system. Having many small panel-level inverters means that the power output of every panel is independent of each other. This avoids power losses from shading issues and provides reliability because if one solar panel fails, the rest of the panels continue to do their job. Due to this, the efficiency of each individual panel is optimised, resulting in more power output from your system. Micro-inverters also provide an added level of safety, as there is no high DC voltage by design and they automatically shut down the entire system if there is a major fault

Power optimisers

Power optimisers work in a similar way to micro-inverters because they optimise each panel individually, resulting in more energy production. Power optimisers also provide an added level of safety due because they automatically shut down the entire system if there is a major fault.

d. ‘Battery-ready’ inverters

All grid-connected inverters are battery ready. If you’d like to connect batteries to your system at a later date you can do this using an AC coupling to a battery inverter.

Which type of inverter will best suit your needs?

  • If you have a relatively simple roof with no shading we would recommend installing a string inverter.
  • If you have a complicated roof with many faces or multiple items that could cause shading throughout the day - we would recommend installing micro-inverters or power-optimisers.
  • If your roof space is limited and you’d like to maximise the amount of power output of your we’d recommend installing micro-inverters or power-optimisers.
  • Your solar installer can provide you with the best option for your property.