SMA Solar Technology AG is a global leader in the development, production and sales of PV inverters and, as an energy management group, offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. SMA is represented in all important photovoltaics markets in 19 countries on four continents. The company has a staff of over 5,500 and reached a sales volume of EUR 1.7 billion in 2011.
Technologically, the inverter is the most important component of a PV plant. It converts the direct current generated in the photovoltaic cells into alternating current compliant with the grid requirements – for self-consumption or feed-in to the power distribution grid. As an intelligent system manager, it also monitors both the PV array and the power distribution grid. SMA inverters already perform important grid management functions, which are becoming increasingly important as electricity production from renewable sources grows. SMA has been developing leading technological solutions and pioneering trends in this area for years and is driving future-oriented topics. For instance, these include intelligent energy management at a household level, grid integration of solar power and connecting storage facilities for more effective use of renewable energy.
SMA has an extensive range of products, which offers the right inverters for all module types and plant sizes; for small residential systems as well as large scale plants, grid-connected installations as well as stand-alone and backup systems all over the world. Plant monitoring and visualization products as well as energy management solutions complete the portfolio.In addition to this, SMA customers worldwide benefit from comprehensive services: from support in installation and commissioning of PV plants to quick and uncomplicated device replacement service in Germany and worldwide, and the free SMA Service Line for technical questions. The company also provides training for plant planners, installers, electrically qualified persons and anybody interested in solar power in seminars as part of the SMA Solar Academy.
SMA has received numerous awards for its product solutions and exceptional corporate culture. In 2011 and 2012, the company achieved first place in the German “Great Place to Work®” competition in the category for companies with over 5,000 employees.
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Solar Spotlight: SMA America on new methods of PV system optimization
In this special edition of Contractors Corner, solar inverter manufacturer SMA America talks about the challenges of traditional PV system optimization, and the new solutions available from the company. Listen to the full episode here or on your favorite podcast app. This podcast is sponsored by SMA Solar [Read More]
SolarEdge takes issue with SMA’s optimizer study
SolarEdge has issued the following response to SMA’s claim based on a study by the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) that in almost all applications, a PV system with string optimization technology can achieve greater energy production than a system with traditional DC optimizers: “In relation to the recent published study on MLPE, a study… [Read More]
SMA says its inverters with ShadeFix outperform traditional MLPE
A study by the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) showed that in almost all applications, a PV system with cutting-edge string optimization technology can achieve greater energy production than a system with traditional DC optimizers, according to SMA America. SMA says the significantly lower component count in the string-based system also minimizes fault, fire and… [Read More]