The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on a microinverter designed at IUPUI that can be installed to a solar panel with a single fastener. The patent was awarded to Euzeli Cipriano dos Santos of the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI.
Microinverters convert direct current from solar panels to alternating current for use by a consumer or delivery to an electrical grid. A drawback is their cost. In some systems, several dozen are required, and each must be installed onto a separate panel. Because of this, labor constitutes a significant portion of the installation costs.
The innovation was disclosed to the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office. The mission of the office is to drive innovation to the market for the benefit of the public, the university and innovators for state, national and global commerce. IU personnel can disclose an invention online.
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