Can amorphous inverters be used at home

In order to avoid unwanted deactivation, it is recommended to use an inverter that has no notable fluctuations of potential on the DC side (transformer device or transformerless inverter with quiet rail topology). The inverters available allow realizing any conceivable plant configurations.

Thin-film silicon (a-Si): Cells based on amorphous silicon have a tendency towards corrosion of the TCO, which leads to a permanent loss of output (problem no. 1). The solution is to negatively connect the generator to ground, which is why most transformerless inverters are not a viable option.

It is also no problem to use any available module technology as long as the planner takes into consideration its particular characteristics and chooses the right inverter. As the world market leader in the area of PV inverters, SMA is able to offer the appropriate device for any purpose.

Thus, all modules of the PV system shift to positive potential when grounding the negative pole of the PV system, or to negative potential when grounding the positive pole. This is not always possible with transformerless inverters – at least not with the devices currently available.

In terms of module compatibility, the distinction between transformerless and galvanically isolated inverters is probably the most important one. Thanks to their galvanic isolation, devices with a transformer allow grounding the PV array, a requirement for some module types.

There are various sizes and power classes. They are available with and without frames, as flexible or inflexible versions, manufactured using the crystalline or thin-film procedures and also made of various materials. Likewise, there are various models of PV inverters, employing different topologies and concepts.