Solar Micro Inverter Testing

Extracting maximum energy

Terrestrial solar micro inverter designers and manufacturers must ensure their products are capable of extracting and delivering the maximum power that is available from the solar modules to which they are attached. Power available from a solar module is highly dependent on its illumination and temperature. The maximum available power is known as the maximum power point (MPP), and it changes with operating conditions. For inverter design, development and qualification, it is critical to test with a variety of MPPs. To obtain a full range of MPPs and other operating points from a solar module with which to test your inverter, it must be exposed to a predictable, repeatable and broad range of illumination and temperature conditions for extended periods. That is impractical to do in a test environment with a solar module. The Agilent E4360 solar array simulator will provide controllable, consistent, stable, and wide-ranging solar module performance.

Use the Agilent E4360 solar array simulator to:

• Develop and verify performance of inverter peak power tracking circuits and algorithms
• Measure and verify inverter efficiency
• Verify the ability of the inverter to produce power grid level output from low to high voltage extremes
• Perform qualification tests ― confirm inverter performance during or after exposure to environmental conditions
• Perform accelerated lifecycle tests
• Perform certification tests