Featured in Bags of cash – 11-2022

Elusive longevity

The expected lifetime of PV inverters is significantly shorter than that of modules. In many projects, inverter replacement is included in financial calculations from the start, despite the high costs. Research is being conducted into the causes of faults to develop more durable inverters and components. But plant design can already improve the lifespan of inverters in use today, reports pv magazine Germany’s Marian Willuhn.

By

Marian Willuhn

09 Nov 2022

A team from the Bern University of Applied Sciences investigated the frequency of errors in inverters installed in Switzerland. | Photo: Bern University

When Jens Heinzler enters a solar farm, he sometimes hears a shrill whistling noise from a distance. “A terrible noise,” says the managing director of Sun2Energy, a service provider for maintenance and technical management of photovoltaic systems. The noise comes from string inverters, and while the exact defect isn’t always clear, Heinzler can say that …

This article is part of pv+

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