APsystems Announces “Best Installers in Canada” Contest

Get nominated and be in to win a free YC600 microinverter system

APsystems is proud of its hard-working installers who use and promote APsystems’ advanced microinverter technology in solar markets all across Canada. This is your time to shine in solar.

As an APsystems installer, this is your chance to win a free YC600 microinverter system, the world’s most advanced solar microinverter, complete with ECU-R gateway and recently launched in the Canada market.

APsystems invites distributors and solar customers to nominate their solar installation professionals or, if you are a professional solar installer, nominate yourself to be listed among APsystems’ Best Installers in Canada.

We’ll announce the winners and awards, potentially highlighting your company at your APsystems distributors’ booth during Solar Canada 2018 in June.

APsystems is committed to helping you grow your solar business even as we grow ours, so this is a cross-promotion opportunity you’ll definitely want to take advantage of.

If you’re a professional solar installer, please contact your APsystems distributor by May 20th 2018 to nominate yourself.

If you have any questions about the Best Installers in Canada contest, please contact us at info.canada@apsystems.com.

Thank you for your partnership and support of APsystems and our world-class solar products. We look forward to hearing from you!

– The APsystems team

APsystems EMA mobile app now features module-level monitoring

Hand-Phone-EMA-module-monitoringAPsystems now offers the same, widely popular module-level monitoring features from its online EMA portal in its convenient mobile app. The EMA app displays solar array power production by day and month, as well as current panel-by-panel performance.

The app also features a date selection tool which displays module-level performance on a specific date and time for even more in-depth monitoring.

In module view, users can select a specific module to view details, view a time-lapse or scrub through the timeline with their finger, and pinch the screen to zoom in or out.

These new EMA app features offer solar system owners even more ways to monitor their system performance, troubleshoot issues and even showcase their energy independence to their friends! Find out more about APsystems mobile apps here.

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Lowen home and organic family farm, Coldstream, British Columbia

Helmi and Kornelius Lowen of Coldstream, British Columbia, wanted to eliminate their power bill – or better yet, start getting a check from the power company under the local net-metering program. Working with a leading Canadian installer Got Solar?, they were able to populate three slopes of their farmhouse roof with solar panels powered by APsystems microinverters.

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The output from the solar array should come very close to achieving “net-zero” and maybe even “net-positive,” creating more power than the Lowen home and farm consume in a year. The grid-tied array was so ambitious, local power provider BC Hydro came out and upgraded the transformer and replaced the pole – at no charge to the Lowens.

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Add it up, and the Lowens earn distinction as Canada’s first 100-percent solar organic farm.

“What makes this project so special, is that even before we installed the solar system, the Lowens in essence already used solar power to create the majority of their profits,” said Chris Palmer of Got Solar? “The fruits, vegetables and other produce grown by this organic farm are all powered by the sun.”

The 3.7-acre family farm in Canada’s rich Okanagan valley raises tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, strawberries, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, beans, peas, beats, corn, squash, zucchini, and in one recent year, some 27,000 heads of garlic.

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“Just about anything you need in a kitchen, it’s right here,” Helmi Lowen told Okanagan Seniors in a video feature. “I get bored very quickly and so does Kornelius, so we enjoy doing the gardening.”

Perhaps more impressive: the Lowens, now in their late 70s and mid-80s, respectively, still work the farm largely on their own.

By helping the Lowens create enough power for both home and farm, Got Solar? and APsystems microinverters helped the couple complete the last link in their quest for self-sustainability. And they still plan to upgrade to an electric car.

Launched in 2015, Got Solar? provides grid-tied and off-grid solar energy systems in Kelowna, B.C., and surrounding areas for residential and commercial clients. They are also the only solar company in the Okanagan that caters to DIY installers.

For the Coldstream Corner project, Got Solar? selected APsystems YC500 dual-module microinverters to support 93, 315-watt modules by Canadian Solar, all but two being 72-cell units. Two 60-cell modules were required due to space constraints around a chimney.

Palmer cited the flexibility of APsystems microinverters that allowed system designers to handle the different module sizes seamlessly. That promises forward-compatibility through the life of the array, he said.

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“Should a solar module ever be damaged or fail in the next 30 years, APsystems has essentially ‘future proofed’ their product by making it so widely compatible through its wide-ranging input capabilities,” Palmer says. “No longer do you have to try and find vintage matching panels, rather, you replace with whatever is currently in use and in inventory.

“Thank you, APsystems, for allowing our crews to have shorter installation times, higher productivity, and ease-of-installation that has no equal.”

Like APsystems microinverters, the Lowens are proud examples of industry and productivity over the long haul.

“A lot of seniors come here and say, ‘I couldn’t do what you’re doing,’ and I don’t believe that,” Helmi Lowen told Okanagan Seniors. “A lot of people could do it. They don’t have to do it, but they could do it. They say no to big gardens, but they could start small in their own backyard or even in their apartment. There’s always a plot there for seniors to go and get their hands dirty.

“If you say you can’t, you can’t. But if you say you can, you can.”
Location: Okanagan, British Columbia
Capacity: 29kW
Installer: Got Solar?, B.C., Canada
Modules: Canadian Solar 315W, 72-cell and 60-cell monocrystalline
Number of modules: 93
Microinverters: APsystems YC500 dual module
No. of microinverters: 47

APsystems joins Sunnova Approved Vendor List

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEATTLE, Washington – January 30, 2018 – APsystems joined the approved vendor list for Sunnova, a leading U.S. residential solar and energy storage service provider.

The agreement brings APsystems advanced microinverter technology to Sunnova’s portfolio of top-tier, consumer-friendly solar services. Sunnova offers an array of solar lease, lease-to-own, and power-purchase options for customers all across the United States.

 

“Sunnova has earned a strong reputation for easy, no-nonsense solar packages for consumers,” said Jason Higginson, Senior Director of Marketing for APsystems USA. “We’re glad to bring our solar microinverter technology to their platform, to help more homeowners nationwide enjoy energy self-sufficiency and savings.”

“Our goal is to offer our customers a brilliant choice for energizing their lives,” said John Santo Salvo, SVP of Channel Operations and Chief Procurement Officer at Sunnova. “We believe APsystems’ advanced microinverter offering is an ideal addition to our customer-empowering portfolio of solar solutions.”

APsystems is listed on Sunnova’s 2018 Approved Vendor List and is now an option in their system solution platform.

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About Sunnova
Sunnova is a leading U.S. residential solar and storage service provider whose mission is to help power solar, savings, reliability and most importantly, life, forward. Offering various rooftop solar system solutions, Sunnova provides its customers with the opportunity to customize their own systems. Sunnova isn’t simply a solar company, but a power provider that offers people a brilliant choice for energizing their lives. For more information, visit www.sunnova.com.

 

 

See APsystems at Solar Canada 2017 on December 4-5!

Solar Canada, Canada’s largest PV convention, comes to Toronto Dec. 4-5. Three of APsystems distribution partners will be there in force. Stop by and check out the latest and greatest products from APsystems. Polaron Solar Booth#:214 National Solar Distributors Booth#:718 HES PV Booth#:316 APsystems serves over 80 countries around the globe and offers solar installers […]

Northernmost grid-tied solar Install in Canada

APsystems 3-phase microinverters now power the northernmost grid-tied solar installation in the Americas – the Community Hall at Pond Inlet, Nunavut, latitude 72N.

Vancouver Renewable Energy (VREC) powered up the 590kW system in Canada’s newest and northernmost province in September.

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The 9.3kW community system features 32 SolarWorld 290-watt mono-crystalline modules and eight APsystems YC1000 true 3-phase microinverters.

In just three weeks the PV system had produced 590kWh of power, saving hundreds of dollars on the municipal power bill for the remote, 1,500-person hamlet. The community otherwise relies on a diesel “tank farm” and generator plant for its power needs – an expensive proposition now helped by clean, renewable solar and APsystems microinverter technology.

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The new array will be paired with a mural celebrating light, both from the sun and from qulliqs, traditional Inuit lamps that use animal fat as for fuel, according to the Vancouver Renewable Energy blog.

Read the whole story here.

APsystems Unveils World’s Most Advanced Solar Microinverter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAS VEGAS – September 10, 2017 – APsystems introduces the YC600, a dual-module, utility-interactive microinverter with Reactive Power Control (RPC) technology and Rule 21 grid support functionality at Solar Power International in Las Vegas, NV.

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The first of its kind, the YC600 was designed to accommodate today’s high output PV panels, offer enhanced capability and meet the latest grid compliance standards, including UL 1741 SA requirements for California Rule 21 as well as voltage and frequency ride through and RPC for European and Australian DER requirements.

Offering an unprecedented 300VA peak output power per channel, the YC600 works with 60 and 72-cell PV modules and offers dual, independent MPPT per panel. The unit operates within a wider MPPT voltage range than competing brands for a greater energy harvest and boasts a durable, NEMA 6/IP67, powder-coated aluminum enclosure, bucking today’s trend of plastic casings.

“Integrating smart grid-interactive capability, reactive power control and Rule 21 support functionality into a dual-module microinverter while still maintaining independent MPPT per channel is a groundbreaking achievement in microinverter technology,” said Olivier Jacques, executive vice president, USA and EMEA. “We’ve significantly raised the bar with this product.”

The YC600 builds on the successful APsystems line of multi-module microinverters, simplifying installation and reducing logistics costs. The unit features both integrated ground and DC connectors for fast, hassle-free installation and maintains inherent compliance to NEC 690.12 Rapid Shutdown code requirements. An integrated ZigBee antenna offers broadband communication over a mesh network for fast, accurate data monitoring.

YC600 Banners“The demands on today’s power conversion systems require that manufacturers not only bring cutting-edge concepts into existence, but also include the complex capabilities of successful previous generations, all while accommodating both current and new compliance standards,” said Dr. Yuhao Luo, APsystems’ chief technology officer. “The YC600 includes dozens of new and advanced features and functions that outclass competing products. And then we added free monitoring.”

The groundbreaking new microinverter will debut at Solar Power International, being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 11-13, booth #1745. The product is now available in Australia and Asia-Pacific markets and will soon launch in the U.S. market mid-Q4 and EMEA market late Q4 of this year.