EEVblog 1487 – Do Solar Micro Inverters Take Power at Night?

How much power do Enphase and other solar micro inverters draw at night time when switched off? It’s actually a very interesting question involving real and apparent/reactive power, the system topology, and whether your storage battery is on-grid or off-grid, and also its efficiency curve. Let’s measure it, do some calculations, and look at when it might be a problem. Buckle up Dorothy!

I’m upgrading my solar power system AGAIN: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewable-energy/solar-upgrade-again/

00:00 – How much standby power does the Enphase micro inverter take?
04:53 – Solar Analytics power measurement at night
07:49 – The actual real power consumption of the Enphase inverter is…
08:32 – So why is it drawing 1.1A at night time?
09:20 – Reactive and Apparent power
10:10 – The Power Factor
11:41 – You only pay for REAL power
15:27 – Power Factor Correction & Energy Saver SCAMS
17:29 – DaveCAD: How does the Enphase Microinverter work?
23:38 – Bidirectional energy flow and untility VAR control
27:55 – How many microinverters can you have?
29:02 – What if you have grid connected battery storage?
30:46 – Battery inverter switching losses
33:19 – I2R copper losses
35:29 – Why not disconnect with a relay?
39:20 – Conclusion

Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1487-do-solar-micro-inverters-take-power-at-night/

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