National Semiconductor Corp. has entered the photovoltaic market with new technology designed to increase the overall energy output of solar electric power generating systems.
The company says its SolarMagic technology extracts the maximum power efficiency of each photovoltaic panel, even when some panels in the array are compromised by shading, debris or inherent panel-to-panel mismatch. The technology recoups up to 50% of lost energy, thereby minimizing the economic impact of shading and other real-world conditions.
SolarMagic is a per-panel electronics solution that maximizes power output of multi-panel installations. It is compatible with today's solar architectures, regardless of the underlying solar cell technology. REgrid Power Inc., one of the largest solar installers in California, has begun system testing of SolarMagic.
‘We have observed energy output improvements of up to 44 percent during shaded conditions and 12 percent overall versus the same system running without SolarMagic technology,’ says Tom McCalmont, president and CEO of REgrid Power.
Later this year, National Semiconductor plans to introduce SolarMagic products for solar installers and system providers to include in their installations. For more information, visit www.national.com/solarmagic.
National Semiconductor: (800) 272-9959
SOURCE: National Semiconductor
