microinverter

Thinking about solar? It's easier to start small

Residential solar power is becoming more like a box lunch than a seven-course gourmet meal.

A number of companies are taking advantage of technical advances, notably microinverters, to make buying a handful of solar panels, rather than a roof full, a viable option. That doesn't mean that everyone can install their own electric panels, but it can lower the cost of entry for solar.

Green Ray Solar this week is expected to announce UL certification for a solar panel that puts out alternating current, rather than direct current as most solar photovoltaic panels do today. AC panels can be … Read more

Smart thermostat connects to solar panel app

Updated at 11:30 p.m. with corrections.

While you're adjusting the thermostat when you get home at night, why not check in on your solar panels?

That's the idea behind Enphase Energy's Environ Smart Thermostat, which allows people to control their heating and cooling while also tracking performance of their solar panels. People can use a Web-based application from a PC or smart phone to view solar panel production and adjust their thermostat.

The product is made possible by the Enphase Energy's Internet-connected microinverters, devices attached to each solar panel to convert direct current to household alternating current, rather than through a large centralized inverter.

Environ also hints at some of the possibilities of combining home energy management and on-site energy production through a home-area network.

Home energy monitoring systems allow people to monitor energy usage and to control devices to reduce wasted energy or take advantage of off-peak rates.… Read more

Solar microinverter firm Enphase bags $63 million

Enphase Energy, a start-up that makes microinverters for solar panels, has signed on venture capital company Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as part of a $63 million round of financing.

The Petaluma, Calif.-based company said on Thursday that Kleiner Perkins' investment is the bulk of a second installment of one funding round, with the first tranche being $40 million in March of this year.

With the money, Enphase Energy plans to ramp up its production of its microinverters, which do DC-to-AC power conversion on individual solar panels. It also has plans to expand outside of the U.S. and … Read more

AC solar panels: One step closer to DIY solar?

Start-up GreenRay Solar has raised money to finalize development of a solar panel that puts out household-grade alternating current, a technology that backers say will make solar power more accessible to homeowners.

The Westford, Mass.-based company said that it has raised $2 million from the Quercus Trust and 21Ventures, which will allow it to start production of its solar panels in the fourth quarter this year. Since its founding three years ago, the company had raised $3.5 million in state and federal clean-energy grants.

GreenRay's AC Solar Module will turn out electricity that meshes with household alternating … Read more

An inverter in every solar panel?

Enphase Energy said on Tuesday that it has raised $15 million to ramp up production of its microinverters, a design that it claims significantly boosts the power output and reliability of solar panels.

Rockport Capital Partners led the series C financing, which was joined by existing investors Third Point Ventures and Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of solar equipment manufacturer Applied Materials.

Enphase Energy's CEO Paul Nahi said the company raised money earlier than anticipated because it's seeing strong demand for its microinverters, which can improve the energy capture of solar panels by 5 to 25 percent. … Read more

Gadgettes 94: The Solar Episode

Lindsey's going green, pigeons! Molly and Jason never knew she was such a hippie. But she'll have a chance to explain herself on this week's solar powered episode of Gadgettes. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 94

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Profolio solar bag, take solar with you anywhere you need it! http://www.rewarestore.com/product/profolio.html

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Microinverters track solar panels via the Web

Enphase Energy on Monday released a solar power system that takes a dramatically different approach to harnessing energy from solar panels.

The start-up company, which raised $6.5 million in funding earlier this year, has built a "microinverter" that converts a solar electric panel's direct current to alternating current on the panel.

Inverters are typically separate devices that are hung outside or in a basement. By placing an inverter right on a panel, Enphase Energy says that it is more efficient at converting light to electricity.

In addition, the microinverters give panel owners a better means for … Read more

Enphase Energy to bring 'microinverters' to solar panels

Is it time for a "small revolution" in the world of renewable energy electronics?

Start-up Enphase Energy on Tuesday announced that it has landed $6.5 million in funding with the bulk of the money coming from Third Point Ventures.

The company makes a system that uses a microinverter, an electronics device that converts direct current from solar panels to grid-ready alternating current on each individual panel.

Each panel can also relay information on its performance to Enphase Energy's Web site, which customers can view from a browser. The company plans to release the system, aimed at … Read more