Solar charge controllers in off-grid systems specifically focus on these designs in order to keep voltages consistent when charging batteries from variable output solar panels. To this author’s very limited electrical knowledge, all inverter manufacturers use these two techniques to manage solar power. The filing also highlighted operational boundaries and how they interact with over current and voltage, while attempting to optimize for the maximum power point (MPPT). The longer form filing with the ITC court includes an image of the circuitry inside of a SolarEdge optimizer, pointing out the location of the buck-boost converter.
Solar edge series#
Solar optimizers regulate the voltages and amperages of individual solar panels in combination with their inverter, among a string of solar panels arranged in a series circuit. Ampt states that this “power optimizer circuit of (their) invention…describes a dual-mode configuration that provides high efficiency for their specific use-case.”īuck converters step voltages down, while boost converters step voltages up. The filing includes a circuit (below) that contains both a buck and boost converter. Ampt notes they were founded in Colorado in 2007. Both patents claim priority to a provisional patent application filed in 2007. The ’630 patent was issued in 2017, while the ’917 patent was recently awarded on March 29, 2022. In the ITC Complaint filing, two patents were specifically highlighted – U.S. Ampt contends that they, and other manufacturers, could replace SolarEdge’s hardware if needed.Īmpt filed with two separate courts – the Count of International Trade (ITC), whose online filing can be found here, and the US District Court of Delaware whole filing can be found here. The filing asks that the whole of SolarEdge’s inverter and optimizer lineup be removed from the marketplace for violation of these patents.
According to Ampt, the violations at the heart of the issue are “power optimizers that contain high-efficiency power converters that both allow maximum power-point output, and use operational boundary conditions that continue producing power during conditions that might otherwise require the optimizer to be bypassed.” 2019 grid parity white paperĪmpt, a power electronic specialist based in Fort Collins, Colorado, has filed a lawsuit against SolarEdge for allegedly violating a series of their patents. Clean Power Research: Solar data solutions to maximize PV project performance.Energy Storage North America Special 2018.The smarter E Europe 2019 special edition.Market overview: Microgrid control systems.
Market overview: Large-scale storage systems.SolarEdge stands out for its warranty, which can reach up to 25 years on some products, being a benchmark of quality in the sector. SolarEdge includes in the photovoltaic field a reorganization of smaller strings (by means of its optimizers) to improve the yield. Typically, an inverter is connected to a set of panels by arranging them in strings. This concept makes it possible to lower the maximum power point tracking to the level of a single panel or a small array of panels, allowing the optimization of production in installations (especially residential) where shading or the arrangement of panels at different inclinations and orientations would not allow optimal yields to be achieved. The company is known worldwide for its technology and for being one of the pioneers and developers of the photovoltaic optimizer concept. At the end of 2009, SolarEdge started mass production of products through an electronics service provider, in this case, Flextronics International Ltd. SolarEdge started its operations in 2006.
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