Xantrex Inverters

Xantrex Inverters are one of the most popular brands of solar inverters used in residential installations and come in a wide variety of models.Xantrex was one of the first companies to exclusively manufacture inverters for the photovoltaic market.The company was originally based out of Canada and listed on the Toronta Stock Exchange.The company has offices in in the United States, Germany and Spain and  China.The fortunes of the company changed when it was bought over by one of the biggest power equipment companies Schneider Electric.However the solar inverters from Xantrex have retained their brand name even after the  acquisition.Note Xantrex also manufactures solar inverter chargers and solar battery chargers .Xantrex focuses on the power electronics for boats, recreational vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, utility and automobiles.

Buy Xantrex Inverter.

Types of Solar Inverters

• Stand-alone Solar Inverters – They are  used in  systems without a connection to the power grid.Inverter draws Energy from Solar Energy. Many stand-alone inverters have attached batteries.These are mainly used in off grid application and in residential/commercial applications where there is no net metering available.

• Grid Tied Solar Inverters – Many solar inverters are designed to be connected to a utility grid, and will not operate when they do not detect the presence of the grid. They contain special circuitry to precisely match the voltage and frequency of the grid. Grid-tie inverters are designed to shut down automatically upon loss of utility supply, for safety reasons. They do not provide backup power during utility outages.These are higher priced than standalone and require special laws to be used.They are always used in solar power plants connected to the grid.

Xantrex Solar Inverters Review

GT Series of Solar Inverters

Xantrex sells a number of Grid Tie Solar Inverters in the 2.8-5 kw range which are mainly targeted towards residential applications.There are  9 Xantrex GT inverters available with power of 2.7 KW,2.8kW,3.1 KW,3.3kW, 3.5kW, 3.8kW and 5.0kW.

Note most solar panel arrays used in residences are of 2-5 kilowatt range and xantrex inverters are perfectly suited for that purpose.Xantrex inverters are widely available in USA and Australia through distributors.These inverters also feature additional capabilities such as communication through various protocols and displays which shows the power being generated by the solar panel array.The GT Series offers efficiency of 95.5%, 240 and 208 volt operation and a  10 year warranty with integrated DC/ AC disconnect.The Xantrex GT inverters has d NEMA 3R enclosure and comes with a  mounting bracket that simplifies installation.GT inverter features RS232 communication port which can allow the  inverter to be remotely using the free Xantrex GT View software

The price of GT Series inverters is quite high at 80-90c/watt which means that you can try and buy some cheaper inveters elsewhere such as Power One inverters which have good quality at a decent price.Chinese solar inverters such as Sungrow are not widely available yet but they are very low cost though reliability is lower as well.

Xantrex Series of Utility Inverters

The GT 3-phase inverters are to be used for large scale grid-tie photovoltaic systems

Xantrex also is present in the utility solar segment of the solar inverter market selling 30-500 kilowatt inverters.These solar inverters serve the grid tie markets.These solar inverters are required by megawatt size solar farms which use thousands of solar panels.The requirements of these large solar inverters are more than used in residential applications.They have to be more reliable and have a longer life.The price of these solar inveters are also greater though lower on a per watt basis.The features of these 3 phase solar inverters are that they have a) High voltage and b) pad-mounted epoxy-coated steel enclosures with integrated transformers and disconnects

Xantrex Off Grid Solar Inverters

The Xantrex Trace Series Inverter Charger is an power conversion solution designed to provide dependable modified sine wave electricity to essential circuits in the home or business during a power outage. It can also be used in conjunction with a generator or any renewable energy source in an off-grid application. The price of these solar inverters are in the 50c/watt range and are more or less in the same ballpark as solar inverters from other German Solar Companies like SMA and Fronius.

Features:

1. Digital display shows kilowatts (kW) when inverting and amps (A) when charging, plus incorporates a ON/OFF membrane switch and status indicators
2. Power factor corrected (PFC) charging, combined with a more sophisticated multi-stage battery charging algorithm, reduces electricity draw and generator run-time
3. Better thermal performance allows full output power to 50C (122F)
4. Circuit boards are conformally-coated

Xantrex Battery Chargers

Xantrex sells battery chargers under the TrueCharge brand name.Xantrex battery chargers are micro-processor controlled ffor charging of vehicle or boat batteries in deep cycle or maintenance applications. . These chargers feature multi-stage, power factor corrected charging meaning that they require less AC input power than traditional chargers to operate at its peak efficiency.They come in the 20A to 60 Amperes range.

Xantrex Inverter Chargers Review

An inverter charger is a combination of an inverter, battery charger and switch . When electricity is available, the inverter charger recharges the batteries and allows any surplus  power to power electrical appliances like LCDs and Lights. When power removed, the the inverter charger converts DC battery power into AC electricity.Xantrex inverter chargers are available in different sizes and power ranges

Here is a list of Xantrex Inverter Chargers

• Freedom 458
• Freedom HF
• Freedom HW
• Freedom SW 2000
• Freedom SW 3000
• RV Series GS
• PROsine 2.0
• PROsine 3.0

These days Micro Inverters in Solar Panels are also becoming quite common as they give better performance albiet at a higher cost than normal solar inverters.You can also read about the different solar inverter manufacturers.