Micro Inverters explained  

A microinverter function in a parallel circuit. To simply put, a standard inverter will cap the electricity production of each panel by the lowest producing panel on your roof. A micro-inverter, on the other hand, will take full advantage of the production of each individual panel. It will convert the power generated by each panel to the grid voltage.
 

Micro inverters advantages 

The core advantage of using microinverters is that theoretically, you can yield more solar electricity. The reason for this is that there are slight differences in voltages between solar panels. When solar panels are in a string the voltage is reduced to the voltage of the lowest voltage panel in the string. Optimizers are an option for standard inverters as well, which function very similarly to a micro-inverter. Micro-inverters and the add-on optimizers both offer an additional perk in system monitoring as well. With either of these devices, you have the ability to track the production of each individual panel, while with a standard inverter you only can track the production of the whole system.

If you were to expand your system in the future, micro-inverters are simple to add one at a time. However, with a standard inverter, it would be more costly to add another full unit. To sum it all up, micro-inverters definitely add value but are only recommended if you have panels facing multiple orientations or you have shading issues. Otherwise, the less expensive standard inverter is usually more cost effective.
 

Micro inverters disadvantages 

The main disadvantage of microinverters is the price. They are typically a $1000 or so more expensive than a string inverter on a standard 5kW residential solar installation. The second disadvantage is that you have as many inverters on your roof as you have solar panels. Although microinverter manufacturers sell the ability to monitor each panel as a benefit of micro's (and it is) they then don't include the monitoring that allows the customer to do this. They only allow the installer to see the panel level data from your system and not you as a customer unless you agree to buy the higher level of monitoring as an upgrade. This means you as a customer only see system-wide monitoring information not what is going on with each panel. A skeptic would say that the reason they do this is to protect them and their installers from support calls related to broken inverters. It is very difficult with only system-wide monitoring data to determine if only one or two inverters out of 25 or so have failed.

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.