Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of solar microinverters, today announced that Enphase Energized™ AC Modules (ACM) from its ACM partners have been installed by over 180 of its solar installation partners in the U.S. five months after availability.
Enphase Energized AC Modules are built by strategic module partners who integrate Enphase microinverters with PV modules on the manufacturing line. Leading solar module manufacturers LG, JinkoSolar, Panasonic, SolarWorld, and Waaree have announced their partnerships with Enphase to develop AC Modules. Enphase Energized AC Modules allow installers to be more competitive through improved capital management, reduced labor costs, and accelerated design and installation times.
“Over the past seven years we’ve done over a thousand installs with Enphase in the punishing Las Vegas heat,” said Rob Kowalczik, president of Robco Electric. “We’ve always had a good experience with the rock-solid reliability of Enphase microinverters, so when the opportunity to further reduce our install costs with AC Modules became available, we jumped on board. Our crews love the simplicity of installing Enphase-based AC Modules. In fact, our warehouse management team loves having fewer items to track now that the Enphase AC Module is our house module. The added efficiency with AC Modules has been a real game changer for Robco, and we’ve been able to keep our prices stable because of the cost savings from switching to an all ACM workflow.”
“AC Modules are the next obvious step in solar energy,” said Bruce Bosworth, owner of San Diego Solar Install. “The installation savings start when the modules arrive, with less unpacking and fewer attachment parts to pay for or forget. These modules are pre-paired at the factory to ensure proper panel to inverter sizing, and the internal grounding from micros makes for safer installations. At the customer site, using AC Modules means fewer trips up and down the ladder, and fewer components to install. We now install exclusively AC Modules, because they make our business simpler, improve safety, and are fast and easy to install.”
“I have had the opportunity to install the Enphase-based LG NeON® 2 ACe for the past five months,” said John Black, founder and CEO of Black Platinum. “These AC modules save us time on the roof and make for easier material handling. Since the inverters are already attached to the solar module there are fewer boxes to transport, and by extension, less waste to haul away.”
“Enphase-based AC modules have enabled our company to streamline our sales, design and installation cycle times,” said Jim Gitas, founder and CEO of Your Energy Solutions. “The faster operations now allow us to exceed our customers’ expectations, and as a result we’ve seen a significant increase in referrals and, consequently, increased profitability.”
“Enphase has always been a highly valued partner because of their quality products, industry knowledge and great customer service,” said Curt Wylie, general manager of Villara Corporation. “With the addition of AC modules, Enphase has made the installation process more efficient and cost effective, both of which help us increase profitability.”
Enphase Energized AC Modules ship as fully integrated systems from its module partners. These AC Modules are impacted by the Section 201 petition filed by Suniva and the U.S. government’s recent decision to impose a tariff on imported solar cells and panels. Enphase is formally seeking exclusion of the tariff on the microinverter portion of the AC module from the office of United States Trade Representative (USTR).
AC Modules based on Enphase IQ™ microinverters meet or exceed regulatory requirements set by the National Electrical Code (NEC) and individual states and are certified compliant with NEC 2014 and 2017 rapid shutdown requirements. Unlike string inverters, Enphase IQ microinverters have rapid shutdown built in, with no additional equipment necessary. Enphase IQ microinverters also comply with requirements for distributed solar on utility networks included in Rule 21 in California and Hawaiian Electric Company Rule 14H, such as power factor, voltage and frequency ride-through requirements.
For more information about Enphase Energized AC Module providers, visit our ACM landing page.
