Enphase Energy announced that it has started production shipments of IQ8 microinverters for customers in North America. IQ8 is Enphase’s smartest microinverter yet and fundamentally changes the paradigm for solar technology, which otherwise requires a grid connection to operate. With IQ8, homeowners can now form a microgrid during a power outage using sunlight, providing backup power even without a battery.
“We are pleased to deliver our customers the all-in-one Enphase Energy System powered by the software-defined IQ8 solar microinverters,” said Badri Kothandaraman, president and CEO of Enphase Energy. “We began piloting the product in the third quarter of 2021 with select installers and the feedback has been great. Homeowners not only get backup power with sunlight, but also have the flexibility to add more solar or batteries in the future as their needs change.”
The Enphase Energy System with IQ8 comes in four different configurations: the first is Solar Only; the second is Sunlight Backup with no battery and the addition of IQ Load Controller to only support essential loads during an outage; the third is Home Essentials Backup with a small battery; and the fourth is Full Energy Independence with a large battery. While the first configuration is a standard grid-tied system, the remaining configurations are grid-agnostic systems which need the Enphase IQ System Controller 2 (formerly called Enpower smart switch) to island the home during an outage. For homeowners who want a battery, there are no sizing restrictions on pairing an Enphase battery with the solar system. And all configurations can be customized for homeowners with the help of Enphase installer partners.
“The IQ8 Microinverter has changed the way we think about installing home solar energy systems,” said William May, owner and operator of May Electric Solar, an Enphase Energy installer partner based in Florida. “The technology gives us the ability to build a solution that fits our customer needs, with or without a battery, and provides them with reliable, affordable and safer power.”
The IQ8 family includes five types of software-defined microinverters, IQ8, IQ8+, IQ8M, IQ8A, and IQ8H, with peak output AC power of 245VA, 300VA, 330VA, 366VA, and 384VA, respectively. The IQ8H microinverter is Enphase’s most powerful microinverter to date and has a California Energy Commission (CEC) efficiency of 97%. The multiple types of IQ8 enable seamless pairing with a full range of solar modules, up to 540 WDC.
While IQ8 pilot installations began in the third quarter of 2021 with select installer partners, production shipments for Enphase’s broader network of distributor and installer partners in North America started last week.
