With the SMA eCharger, a new generation of wallboxes for PV-optimized charging has been launched. We have now compiled your...

Renewable energy can cover a growing energy demand. However, can it also ensure system stability when conventional power plants are increasingly being shut down? Large battery storage systems with grid-forming inverters play a key role here. What was previously performed by the inertia mass of the system generators in conventional power plants, is now managed by the power electronics of inverters in the increasingly renewable energy supply.

Many small rural municipalities harbor enormous potential for the energy transition. The share of renewable energies can continue to increase if the existing infrastructure is further expanded and modernized. In these municipalities, waste heat and water can also make a bigger contribution to the energy supply.

Wolfram Dege destroys inverters for a living – and helps to make them better in the process. To do so, he puts the devices under high stress and induces artificial aging. He really puts the inverters through the wringer, using cold, heat, moisture and high currents and voltages – ideally all at once. This gives him valuable information about service life. Read on to find out more about his life-prolonging work and his favorite test.

It's all in the mix: In the new "blended learning" format, the SMA Solar Academy is now combining digital and analog maintenance training for the Sunny Central and Sunny Central Storage central inverters. There are only two days of classroom training at the Solar Academy. Prior to that, the theory will be provided on four half days as remote training. "This is more flexible, fits better into everyday work and family life, and the participants save on accommodation costs," says Academy trainer Jan Rössler.

The safety of a PV system depends, among other things, on the design of the overall system. Modern string inverters with integrated features enable a slim system design. This avoids potential sources of error, for example through additional cabling effort when installing module electronics. In a webinar "Analyzing PV system safety and the promise of optimizers" in June 2022, Dr. Heribert Schmidt from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and SMA expert Hannes Knopf discussed the influence of different system designs on the safety of PV systems. Afterwards we received so many exciting questions on the topic, which we would like to share with you. Our colleague Hannes Knopf answered the most frequently asked questions here.

The PV industry is using high-current modules to combat rising system costs. This type of module consists of M10 or larger PV cells, which can accommodate correspondingly high MPP currents (>12 A). Read on to find out what needs to be taken into account in the choice of inverter and what kind of misconceptions can commonly be encountered, as well as the difference between short-circuit current and maximum input current.

When the inverter’s service life suddenly came to an end, low performance was threatening the profitability of Guntram Grieseler’s solar power plant. He decided to modernize his plant with innovative SMA string inverter technology. As a result, Guntram Grieseler’s plant is now producing even more energy than before. Here’s how it was done.

Storage and PV power plants are system-relevant. The energy transition cannot succeed without them. If a power plant fails, the costs mount up very quickly. Michael Ploechl is the head of the SMA monitoring location in Germany and he and his team ensure that it doesn’t come to that. Despite this responsibility, Ploechl generally remains relaxed. He can afford to. Because at two locations in the U.S. and Germany, expert teams analyze the system performance of power plants worldwide 24/7 in real time. The professionals in Rocklin and Ulm ensure that everything runs smoothly. In our interview, he explains why operating expenditure is more important than capital expenditure and how rabbits occasionally cause him some trouble.

The Sunny Design planning software has been used to plan millions of PV systems worldwide since 2007. The new release coming out in late April lets you precisely model where shading might be on the modules and shows you where direct irradiation is lost.