Cooling inverters to increase efficiency

SolarLurker · September 2010

Does anyone have any idea how inverter effciency may increase at lower temperatures, in particular SMA sunny boy inverters.

I have two SMA inverters in my basement at the moment, its 60 or so degree down their. I am think about installing a Heat pump water heater that should cool the room a bit futher, I wonder what type of effect this will have on inverter effciency.

Cariboocoot · September 2010

Re: Cooling inverters to increase efficiency

I shouldn't think you'll see any practical improvement. At 60F the inverter is already in a nicely cool atmosphere. If it were someplace very hot (like an attic) cooling it would help.

It's not like solar panels whose efficiency improves with drastic cooling (super-conductivity increasing output).

This may be a very confusing answer: I've had a very bad day that began with the power out and my not having got my back-up generator install completed. :grr

BB. · September 2010

Re: Cooling inverters to increase efficiency

Probably not much on efficiency--However, you are increasing their life a bit... Cooling by 10C (18F) will approximatly double the life of electronics (and other items)... Increasing by 10C will tend to decrease life by 1/2... 20C increase, 1/2*1/2=1/4 the life (actual temperature--say the inverter runs "hot" 5 hours a day, you are increasing/decreasing the life by affecting a cooling/heating during that period.

Also, another killer of electronics is thermal cycling--Avoiding lots of large thermal swings (freezing at night, 100F+ during day) also helps a lot too.

So, lots of nice/stable/cool temperatures are nice.

Is it worth running A/C to cool a room for inverters--probably not unless there is poor ventilation/cooling/air circulation to begin with.

-Bill

Cooling inverters to increase efficiency

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