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Analyzing PV system safety and the promise of optimizers

There is no question that rooftop PV systems have to be safe, for residents, fire and emergency services, and for installers. However, how justified are some concerns being raised about system safety? And what missteps have been made while trying to mitigate some perceived threats? In this pv magazine Webinar, experts from SMA and Fraunhofer ISE will present real-world data on rooftop PV system safety and argue that some claims made about certain system architectures might not be as robust as claimed.

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Analyzing PV system safety and the promise of optimizers

Safety is paramount in rooftop PV. But do all the claims made about how best to ensure system safety stack up?

In this pv magazine Webinar, experts from SMA and Fraunhofer ISE will present key facts regarding PV system safety and examine a series of claims made by some component suppliers.

How string inverter systems compare to those with module-level power electronics (MLPE), like optimizers or microinverters will be addressed, and the advantages and disadvantages probed. The lifetime reliability and overall sustainability of the two systems will also be analyzed by the speakers.

Joining us in for this webinar will be Hannes Knopf, senior expert standards and committee work at SMA Solar Technology. He will be joined by Heribert Schmidt, senior scientist and fellow at renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

pv magazine Webinar content:

  • Solar system safety facts
  • String inverter systems vs MLPE systems using optimizers and microinverters
  • Reliability and sustainability of both systems
  • Q&A

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Bella Peacock from pv magazine will be the moderator of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine Webinar is free of charge.

Speakers

Hannes Knopf | Senior expert standards & committee work, SMA Solar Technology

Hannes Knopf is a Renewable Energies expert, who has earned a Master of Science Degree at Portland State University in Oregon (USA) and a Diplom-Ingenieur’s Degree at the University of Karlsruhe (KIT) in Germany. For more than two decades he has dedicated his professional career to the advancement of Photovoltaic (PV) Systems in the fields of Smart Inverters, Grid Integration, PV Systems’ Performance and Safety. His career spans over three continents, from the early stages of PV deployment until today. He now signs responsible for the strategic development of standards and committee work at SMA.

Heribert Schmidt | Senior scientist, fellow, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

Dr. Heribert Schmidt studied electrical engineering at the Universities of Cologne and Aachen. After he obtained his doctorate in electronics from the RWTH Aachen, he worked in the field of space technology at Dornier Systemtechnik, Germany. Since 1988, he has been with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany. His main research field is power electronics for PV-systems, namely inverters, battery management systems and BOS components. He holds several patents in these fields.

Moderators

Bella Peacock | Editor, pv magazine Australia

Bella completed her MA in English Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin, living and working in Berlin and Sarajevo for four years before returning home to Australia in 2019. She joined pv magazine Australia in 2020, after 18 months working as a digital producer for Nine, and has since become completely engrossed by the world of renewable energy, technology and sustainability. Bella has completed a BA in Media Arts & Production at Sydney’s University of Technology.

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