Date: 26/05/2009

Nationals' SolarMagic power optimizer tested to prove MTBF of 455 years

National Semiconductor has put its SolarMagic power optimizers on a harsh environment test to check on its reliability and durability. National says, the test results confirm a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 455 years making SolarMagic power optimizer one of the reliable electronic photovoltaic (PV) system components.

SolarMagic optimizes final PV output power from the solar grid by efficiently managing the output of solar grid power units, which produce different levels of power due to environment conditions such as shade, debris and panel aging. National uses power management semiconductor devices to smartly monitor and bridge voltages and power of different levels resulting in recoup of 57% of lost energy due to above said conditions.

SolarMagic is designed to have very high reliability by incorporating proper component derating, extensive reliability Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), thermal analysis and pre-qualification reliability testing.

The environmental tests conducted by National Semiconductor include damp-heat exposure, humidity-freeze cycling and thermal cycling used for PV module qualifications. Also SolarMagic has successfully undergone electronic-systems reliability qualification tests such as high temperature operating life tests, power temperature cycling and highly accelerated life tests (HALT). Data from more than two thousand hours of reliability stress testing of SolarMagic power optimizers demonstrated an MTBF of 455 years.

National has utilized the services of 3rd party test services provider Ops a La Carte LLC to do the reliability testing SolarMagic power optimizer at its HALT and HASS Labs in Santa Clara, U.S.

"National Semiconductor has long been known for quality and reliability, creating high-performance analog and power management products for extremely demanding applications in space, military and automotive areas. We are now applying that expertise in reliability to raise the performance bar for the PV industry," said Dr. Prasad Chaparala, director of National's Technology Reliability.