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DIY newbie here. I have some trees on the perimeters of my planned solar array. Should I be using microinverters on the back of each solar panel? Or can I use diodes instead? Thank you!
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Diodes are a lot cheaper!
It really depends what you want from your array. Some microinverters can be monitored via I.P. - very fancy stuff, but do you really need it?
Microinverters also have the benefit of connecting directly to a mains ring without all joining up at a D.C. source, so I guess, less power is wasted.
You will need one or the other if your array is partly shaded...Dem -
If the panels have internal bypass diodes, you can often get partial power (voltage) from them if only part of the panel is shaded. But if the whole panel is shaded, the internal bypass diodes in series will have a higher voltage drop than one external (parallel) bypass diode. (Note that the more common type of external diode is a series blocking diode, and that has no effect on the panels' reaction to shading.)
If you are using multiple strings into an MPPT controller, then even with bypass diodes, one string with one shaded panel and a bypass diode will not contribute anything to the input to the MPPT inverter or CC, since the Max Power Point will be above the new voltage of that string.
The net effect then will be no better than the same string without bypass diodes.
So if you have shading which affects different series strings differently, and the two strings would end up combined into one DC input, you will be better off with microinverters. With the microinverters, the ouput of each panel will be independent and may even produce partial power from a partially shaded panel, depending on the input voltage range the microinverter can handle.SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.Comment
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