Hi
I've just had a call from a company called Solar Plants who sell Solar Edge Power Optimisers for solar panels and also Solar Edge Invertors.
One thing that the sales person said that surprised me was that the technology can change the panels from being in series to being in parallel - just by fitting something to each panel. Even more surprising was the fact that he said that if there is shade on one panel then other panels will produce less electricity. I got a bit annoyed by this statement and said that this couldn't possibly be the case. He replied by saying that it was like a set of old-style Christmas tree lights - if one doesn't work then none of the others work. I then said that this wasn't the same as saying that leaves or shading on one panel would cause other panels to produce less electricity. He reiterated that one panel producing less electricity would mean that other panels in the series would also produce less electricity - note that he was saying that each panel would produce less electricity rather than the total produced across the series would be less because of the poor-performing panel.
Surely this can't be right? I ended up getting his boss on the phone and he said exactly the same thing. The quote is, "If one is shaded then all other panels in the series will be affected and will produce less electricity." When I asked him to confirm this and made it obvious that I was writing this down he qualified to say that other factors like leaves could also cause the same effect - again saying that one panel producing less would make others produce less. (Sorry, I know I'm flogging that a bit but want to highlight the fact that he said that each individual panel other than the shaded panel would also produce less elctricity.) My understanding of the panels was that they were more like batteries and so one producing a lower voltage wouldn't mean that others would produce less?
Also the quote about series/parallel sounded dodgy, "[It changes the panels] from being wired in series to being in parallel." This is the Power Optimiser that is fitted to each panel - ever heard of this magical device? If so, how does it do this?
Many thanks - I carried on listening as I reasoned that it was a long time ago that I did my Physics A-Level so some of the fundamental laws of the universe may well have been upgraded. Someone is coming round to explain the magic tomorrow but I'd be really interested to hear thoughts about any of the above before then.
If I'm being a plonker please feel free to tell me
Have a great Xmas
BMB
* Sorry this is in totally the wrong thread - apologies, I'm not sure how it ended up here! Please do feel free to move it to the correct thread
I've just had a call from a company called Solar Plants who sell Solar Edge Power Optimisers for solar panels and also Solar Edge Invertors.
One thing that the sales person said that surprised me was that the technology can change the panels from being in series to being in parallel - just by fitting something to each panel. Even more surprising was the fact that he said that if there is shade on one panel then other panels will produce less electricity. I got a bit annoyed by this statement and said that this couldn't possibly be the case. He replied by saying that it was like a set of old-style Christmas tree lights - if one doesn't work then none of the others work. I then said that this wasn't the same as saying that leaves or shading on one panel would cause other panels to produce less electricity. He reiterated that one panel producing less electricity would mean that other panels in the series would also produce less electricity - note that he was saying that each panel would produce less electricity rather than the total produced across the series would be less because of the poor-performing panel.
Surely this can't be right? I ended up getting his boss on the phone and he said exactly the same thing. The quote is, "If one is shaded then all other panels in the series will be affected and will produce less electricity." When I asked him to confirm this and made it obvious that I was writing this down he qualified to say that other factors like leaves could also cause the same effect - again saying that one panel producing less would make others produce less. (Sorry, I know I'm flogging that a bit but want to highlight the fact that he said that each individual panel other than the shaded panel would also produce less elctricity.) My understanding of the panels was that they were more like batteries and so one producing a lower voltage wouldn't mean that others would produce less?
Also the quote about series/parallel sounded dodgy, "[It changes the panels] from being wired in series to being in parallel." This is the Power Optimiser that is fitted to each panel - ever heard of this magical device? If so, how does it do this?
Many thanks - I carried on listening as I reasoned that it was a long time ago that I did my Physics A-Level so some of the fundamental laws of the universe may well have been upgraded. Someone is coming round to explain the magic tomorrow but I'd be really interested to hear thoughts about any of the above before then.
If I'm being a plonker please feel free to tell me
Have a great Xmas
BMB
* Sorry this is in totally the wrong thread - apologies, I'm not sure how it ended up here! Please do feel free to move it to the correct thread
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