Inverter lifetime
PV modules are generally considered to have a life span of 25 years. Recently, Trina Solar Chairman Gao Jifan said in an interview that technological advances have allowed PV modules to have a lifespan of more than 30 years.
How often does an inverter, one of the core components of a PV system, need to be replaced? It is commonly believed that inverters are limited by internal electronic components (IGBTs, capacitors, inductors, etc.) and generally have a life span of no more than 10 years, and that inverters should be replaced at least once during the entire life cycle of a PV plant.
-Inverter failure factors
The service life of an inverter has a lot to do with the usage environment and the quality of the components, which include structural parts, circuit boards, power switching tubes, capacitors, LCDs and fans, and other components. The life of the inverter can be explained by the "barrel theory", that is, it is determined by the components with the shortest life span, usually IGBT, capacitor, inductor, etc. The life span is generally less than 10 years.
-Inverter using environment
Because the temperature inside the inverter is the most important factor affecting the life of the inverter (components), direct exposure to sunlight will increase the working temperature; installation in a confined space will affect heat dissipation; dust accumulation on the surface will also affect heat dissipation; sun, wind and rain will affect the life of the housing, connections, etc. ......
The failure of the components of the inverter may affect the power generation and stop working, or it may not affect the power generation. The failure of capacitors, silicone grease, etc. is also a gradual process that will gradually reduce the efficiency of the inverter. Therefore, it is first recommended to maintain the inverter to slow down the aging of the inverter components.
When an inverter fails or has an unacceptable degradation in efficiency in your opinion, is it repaired or replaced?
As a power electronic device, repair is possible at any time, it just needs to be considered economically whether to repair or replace. Some may be simple failures, such as display failure, shell rust, does not affect the power generation, you can decide; some may affect the power generation, such as opening the inverter shell and found that the wiring is loose, silicone grease is gone (and the computer's thermal grease), these may be things you can do, or ordinary electrical repairman can do things, may be done first try.
For centralized inverter failures, the module repair method is generally used. The overall value of the centralized inverter is high, and the replacement cost is high. Usually the whole machine is divided into several modules, so we can detect which module is faulty first, and then replace the faulty module.