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.

With an inverter on every solar panel, owners can view performance of each individual module via the Web.

(Credit: Enphase Energy)

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 monitoring the performance of individual panels.

The company also has a gateway that transfers panel performance data which is displayed on a Web site.

The microinverter on a solar panel.

(Credit: Enphase Energy)

Its design has garnered high praise from University of California at Berkeley professor Dan Kammen who is director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. In a statement, he called microinverters "disruptive technology" and said, "I think this is, in some sense, the most important technological breakthrough solar has ever seen."

Solar installer Borrego Solar beta-tested the microinverter system at residential sites and intends to use it.