The world’s leading manufacturer of solar inverters, SMA, has celebrated three decades in the solar sector and also inaugurated the construction of the world’s biggest inverter service centre.
Starting out as a small German engineering firm in 1981, SMA now employs a staff of over 6,500 people in 19 countries and 4 continents. Last year the company generated sales of EUR 1.9 billion.
One of SMA’s specialties is solar inverters for the residential market. An inverter is the box sitting between a solar module array and the switchboard that converts the DC current produced by the solar panels to AC current suitable for use in the home and exporting to the mains grid.
SMA solar inverters are a popular choice in Australian home solar power installations due to their impressive efficiency and reliability under Australia’s often harsh conditions.
During yesterday’s celebrations, the company provided more details of it massive new global service centre being constructed in the Sandershäuser Berg industrial area in Germany. The 24,000 m² facility incorporates a fully insulated shell with a wooden-frame construction and heat recovery systems. A 1 megawatt solar farm will be installed on the building’s rooftop. While the brand of solar panels being used for the solar array is unknown at this point, the chances are better than good the inverters being used will be – well – SMA.
SMA devices requiring repair from within Germany are already replaced within 24 hours and those coming from other countries within 48 hours says the company. SMA’s aim is to shorten those times further with the new centre. Joining a global network of 85 service sites in 19 countries, the Sandershäuser Berg facility is expected to be fully operational next year,
In other recent SMA news, the company unveiled the Sunny Tripower 20000TL High Efficiency inverter, a 20kVA device for large scale installations with 99 percent maximum efficiency; the highest conversion efficiency to date for standard equipment.
