EEVblog 1487 - Do Solar Micro Inverters Take Power at Night?

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3 years ago
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How much power do Enphase and other solar micro inverters draw at night time when switched off? It's actually a very interesting question involving real and apparent/reactive power, the system topology, and whether your storage battery is on-grid or off-grid, and also its efficiency curve.
Let's measure it, do some calculations, and look at when it might be a problem. Buckle up Dorothy!

I'm upgrading my solar power system AGAIN: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewable-energy/solar-upgrade-again/

Microinvreter panel sizing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4ER6I8Y9gA
New Enphase system install: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTUZk7vY1ME

00:00 - How much standby power does the Enphase micro inverter take?
04:53 - Solar Analytics power measurement at night
07:49 - The actual real power consumption of the Enphase inverter is...
08:32 - So why is it drawing 1.1A at night time?
09:20 - Reactive and Apparent power
10:10 - The Power Factor
11:41 - You only pay for REAL power
15:27 - Power Factor Correction & Energy Saver SCAMS
17:29 - DaveCAD: How does the Enphase Microinverter work?
23:38 - Bidirectional energy flow and untility VAR control
27:55 - How many microinverters can you have?
29:02 - What if you have grid connected battery storage?
30:46 - Battery inverter switching losses
33:19 - I2R copper losses
35:29 - Why not disconnect with a relay?
39:20 - Conclusion

Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1487-do-solar-micro-inverters-take-power-at-night/

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