What is AC Solar?

In traditional PV installations, solar modules are wired together in series as a string, and their combined DC output is fed to a central, or string, inverter. The inverter, installed separately from the solar modules, converts the DC output of the solar modules to the AC power used in homes, businesses and the utility grid.

With this design, a drop in performance of any module reduces the output of every other module in the string. In particular, even a small amount of shading or soiling on a module reduces its power output, and thereby drags down the overall string significantly. Furthermore, solar modules shipped from the factory with slightly varying operating characteristics can cause “mismatch” issues, which further reduce the power output from a solar installation. Overall, these issues – shading, soiling, and mismatch – can reduce the power output of central inverter-based system from 5 to 25 percent.

In contrast, a SolarBridge AC Module system maximizes energy harvest by performing maximum power point tracking (MPPT) at the module level. This isolates the performance issues caused by passing clouds, partial shade from trees or roof obstructions, and module mismatch to only those modules that are directly impaired, allowing other modules in the array to perform at their full output. Solar installers can, in turn, qualify more sites for solar that would otherwise be ineligible due to varied roof orientation, intermittent shading and other factors.